Fagus sylvatica (beech) dominates the montane forests of the Apennines and builds old-growth high-conservation value stands. However, recent severe drought-induced diebacks raise concern on the future persistence of these forests and of Southern European mesophilous woodlands overall, growing at their dry edge. To explore the history of Apennine beech-dominated forests, we draw on the multiproxy paleoecological record from Lago Verdarolo, which includes a robust vegetation-independent temperature reconstruction. Numerical techniques are used to investigate the drivers of long-term Mediterranean mountain forest dynamics. Specifically, we focus on disentangling the ecological factors that caused the shift from high-diversity mixed forests to beech-dominated stands and on assessing the occurrence of legacy effects on present-day forests. Abrupt climate change largely drove vegetation dynamics during the Late Glacial and Early Holocene. Species-rich mixed Abies alba (silver fir) forests dominated about 10,500—5500 years ago, under rather dry and warmer-than-today conditions (+ 1—2 °C) and limited fire occurrence. Cooler and moister summers and increasing fire activity caused declines in several fire-sensitive temperate deciduous trees (for example, Ulmus, Tilia, Fraxinus) and favored the establishment of fir-beech forests around 5500 years ago. Further enhancement of fire activity and farming around 2000 years ago led to local Abies alba extinction and forest impoverishment. We conclude that the currently widespread monospecific Apennine beech forests are the result of multi-millennial land-use intensification superimposed on Late Holocene cooling and moistening. Given their higher drought-tolerance compared to beech stands, reviving ancient species-rich mixed fir forests represents a feasible and ‘tested’ possibility to adapt forests to climate change.

山楂（山毛榉）在亚平宁山脉的山地森林中占主导地位，并建立了古老的高保护价值林分。然而，最近严重的干旱引起的枯死引起了人们对这些森林和整个南欧中温林地在干燥边缘生长的未来持久性的担忧。为了探索亚平宁山毛榉占主导地位的森林的历史，我们借鉴了 Lago Verdarolo 的多代理古生态记录，其中包括强大的与植被无关的温度重建。数值技术用于研究长期地中海山地森林动态的驱动因素。具体来说，我们专注于解开导致从高多样性混交林转变为以山毛榉为主的林分的生态因素，并评估对当今森林产生的遗留影响。在晚冰河期和早全新世期间，突然的气候变化在很大程度上推动了植被动态。物种丰富的混合大约 10,500 至 5500 年前，冷杉（银冷杉）森林占主导地位，当时的条件比今天更干燥、更温暖（+ 1-2 °C），火灾发生率有限。夏季凉爽潮湿以及火灾活动增加导致几种对火敏感的温带落叶乔木（例如榆树、紫椴树、水曲柳）减少，并有利于在大约 5500 年前建立冷杉山毛榉林。大约 2000 年前，火灾活动和农业的进一步加强导致了当地的冷杉灭绝和森林贫化。我们得出的结论是，目前广泛存在的单种亚平宁山毛榉森林是千年土地利用集约化叠加晚全新世冷却和湿润的结果。鉴于与山毛榉林相比，它们具有更高的耐旱性，恢复古老物种丰富的混合冷杉林代表了一种使森林适应气候变化的可行且“经过验证”的可能性。