Local Perceptions of Landscape Transformation Interventions and Scenarios in Common Lands

Common lands in rural Portugal face a combination of challenges from demographic decline, limited active management, and increasing wildfire risk, particularly in more marginalized areas. This study analyses local perceptions of landscape transformation in the common lands of Fajão-Vidual parish (in Pampilhosa da Serra, central Portugal), which cover over 50% of the parish’s total area and where the gradual dissolution of Commoners’ Committees transferred the management responsibility to the Parish Council. Based on semi-structured interviews with key management agents (three sessions, four contributors) and a participatory workshop with local residents and stakeholders (n = 16), we examine how different actors perceive current land use dynamics, governance arrangements, and desirable landscape futures. Results show convergence among the participating actors around preferences for multifunctional landscapes and native-species-based landscape mosaics, a rejection of invasive species expansion, and strongly argued divergent positions on the solar energy landscape. However, structural barriers—including labor scarcity, cadastral disputes, and administrative complexity—significantly constrain landscape transformation. We argue that the future of common lands is fundamentally a socio-political question, requiring governance renewal, structural reform, and long-term policy continuity.