Description:    European larch ( Larix decidua Mill.) forests in the Alps are cultural landscapes that have been shaped by humans for centuries through traditional management. Biological and historical data sources were employed, and a multi-scale approach was adopted to capture the influence of factors affecting the structure of these forests. Landscape and stand scale dynamics were analyzed in four watersheds (c. 13,000 ha) of the western and central Italian Alps that have experienced different land-use intensities. Observed landscape changes were generalized using path analyses developed from a common conceptual model. Stand structure and a range of environmental variables were sampled in 203 circular plots, and land use and anthropogenic variables were derived from thematic maps and aerial photographs. We used multivariate statistical analyses (ordination and SEM models) to relate forest structure, anthropogenic influences, land uses, and topography. The most commonly observed land cover transition was an expansion of forests at the expense of open areas. All studied watersheds were dominated by larch forests, but their structure and spatial pattern differed greatly. Anthropogenic variables were less important at Ventina, the least accessible site, but emerged as fundamental to explain stand structure in the other study sites. Complexity of topography and proximity to roads had influenced past human activities mainly in the most accessible sites. Regeneration density was greatest at lower elevations and closer to human settlements. Quantification of the role played by forest harvesting and cattle grazing in past centuries is critical for understanding how global change factors may influence future dynamics of mountain forests in the European Alps and similar cultural landscapes worldwide. Content Type Journal Article Category Research Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s10980-012-9792-6 Authors Matteo Garbarino, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Emanuele Lingua, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy Peter J. Weisberg, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada Reno, Mail Stop 186, Reno, NV 89557, USA Alessandra Bottero, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Fabio Meloni, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Renzo Motta, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Journal Landscape Ecology Online ISSN 1572-9761 Print ISSN 0921-2973