An integrated interdisciplinary framework to explore social-ecological implications of pasture-forest transition in the Italian Alps

This study examines the social-ecological implications of land-use changes in Alpine pastures of the Tesino area (Eastern Alps, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy), with a particular focus on pasture-forest transitions driven by the abandonment of traditional agro-pastoral practices. An interdisciplinary research team developed a unified theoretical framework to align objectives, concepts, methods, and terminology across natural and social science disciplines. Spatio-temporal landscape dynamics, analyzed using orthophoto series and qualitative documentation of landscape transformations, revealed a progressive encroachment of forest vegetation into semi-natural grasslands driven by socio-economic and cultural drivers. Subsequently, to investigate how pasture-forest transitions affect ecosystem functioning, a representative area was selected for field-based surveys along a gradient from extensively managed pasture to mature spruce forest, including an intermediate young forest belt. A set of complementary indicators of plant functional diversity and soil multifunctionality was assessed. These indicators collectively revealed coordinated plant–soil functional strategies and trade-offs between pasture management and forest encroachment, with relevant implications for supporting, provisioning, and regulating ecosystem services. Socio-cultural services and stakeholders’ perceptions were complementarily explored through semi-structured interviews, providing contextual insights into land-use change and management preferences. Overall, the integration of natural and social science perspectives highlighted the importance of extensive land management aimed at sustaining multifunctional landscapes composed of semi-natural grazing meadows, productive forests, and protection forests, thereby supporting the resilience of Alpine social-ecological systems.