# Forest Dynamic in the Italian Apennines
## 5 Conclusions  
The aim of this study is to describe the landscape changes which occurred in an area situated above 1300 m asl of PNALM (Central Apennines, Italy), between 1954 and 2016 by using past and recent aerial photos. Data on land use/land cover classes were analyzed by means of transition matrix. Overall, we observed a large change in landscape composition and configuration, regarding about 50% of the investigated area, which denotes an intense evolutive trend of this territory. The rate of the LULC change in the Apennines context, at an elevation above 1300 m, seems to be not exactly in compliance with the results of the recent study [11] that, in a comparison between the Alps and Apennines context, concluded that, \"However, the rate of forest expansion was faster in the Apennines for the larger occurrence at lower elevations of old-fields recolonized by secondary forests. In the Alps, climate and land use changes favored a widespread transition from unvegetated areas to forest at higher elevations\". All open habitats, such as grasslands, declined, while woodlands expanded through spontaneous reforestation, at the expense of open lands. This finding confirms the general trend of landscape changes, also observed at a larger scale in rural and mountain areas in Italy and in other European countries [11; 12; 30; 74]. In the studied area, the relative proportion of LULC classes and the annual transition matrix showed that pastures and open areas were replaced by woodlands, but the transition appears slower than the 25 years described by other authors [12]. Rewilding, defined [30; 75], as _the passive management of ecological succession with the goal of reducing human control and restoring natural ecosystem processes_ favors the expansion of forests even if their structure is strongly influenced by previous management [76]. The abandonment of pastures and traditional activities entails the loss of biodiversity, cultural diversity and landscape heterogeneity, an important legacy for local communities. \"Landscape\" means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors (European Landscape Convention, ELC); many traditional landscapes are man-shaped without any aesthetic or ecological purpose. A number of policies, laws and, in some cases, financial tools addressed to the conservation of biodiversity and, more in general, of natural heritage already exist. As for the landscape, although the ELC is aimed at preserving landscape quality, specific policies and financial intervention addressed towards rural landscape conservation are lacking. These transformation trajectories do not seem to be arrested by actively keeping the clearings open, and by contrasting the advancement and closure of the forests through direct interventions or with the reintroduction of grazing. From these considerations, three major questions arise: What can be done to cultural landscapes that tend to be rapidly recovered with shrubs and forests? Is farmland and grazing abandonment the best option for improving biodiversity and sustainability, and for enhancing refaunation? Or is it preferable to actively manage the landscapes in order to enhance their natural heterogeneity with the presence of light human activity [51]? A further question arises about the role of the protected areas: must they pursue the purposes of conservation of natural environments favoring the rewilding and renaturalization, or must they protect also cultural values? It must be kept in mind that only specific planned intervention or subsidies can allow these typical landscapes to survive. In the present paper, the use of aerial photos and photointerpretation, although challenging and time-consuming, provide more detailed information than other methodologies and also allow to identify the densification of the canopy coverage. Although the general transformation processes are well known, a deep knowledge of the territory is essential for a correct and effective allocation of financial resources.