Mountain pastures in the Slovenian Alps: their role in shaping and sustaining the cultural landscapeUrbanc, Mimi (Avtor) Ledinek Lozej, Špela (Avtor) Šmid Hribar, Mateja (Avtor) cultural landscapemountain pasturespastoralismagrarian communitySlovenian AlpsThis chapter focuses on mountain pastures and their role in shaping and maintaining landscapes on the southeastern fringe of the European Alps. Mountainous cultural landscapes witness centuries of interactions between people and their environment, resulting in multi-layered, multi-structured, and multi-functional entities. Although mountain pastures seem to be a strong pillar of stability of Alpine landscapes, they are nevertheless susceptible to constant change within the dynamic interplay of economic, social, and political factors. The question arises how to address current challenges and megatrends, such as the general decline of agriculture, especially small-scale farming, the depopulation of mountain areas, and booming tourism. The overall objective of this chapter is to highlight some essential landscape-related aspects of mountain pasture farming from historical and contemporary perspectives: landscape change, drivers of change, current challenges, landscape as a form and as a process, actors and stakeholders, and perspectives. We have explored these issues through three case studies from different parts of the Slovenian Alps. The paper concludes with a reflection on mountain landscapes in general and specifically on the users’ perspectives on mountain pasture management in these landscapes.20262026-03-28 16:22:26Neznano28682sl© The Author(s) 2026