19th-century afforestation policies have predisposed mountain slopes to forest expansion under recent climate warming in the southern French Alps. The 1860 Mountain Reforestation Law, locally implemented by an 1864 decree, combined with rural depopulation and a decline in pastoral activities, significantly reduced anthropogenic pressure, facilitating natural forest regeneration in this area. These historical transformations have predisposed the landscape to continued forest expansion, with recent climate warming further amplifying this trajectory over the past four decades.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03091333251378970
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