Balancing pastoral heritage and tourism – A DRSIR perspective on landscape transformation in European mountains

European mountain areas have been historically shaped by traditional pastoral practices, creating culturally, ecologically, and visually valuable traditional landscapes. Over the past decades, these landscapes have faced profound transformations due to the decline of pastoralism and the rapid development of tourism. This paper applies a modified DPSIR framework, referred to as the DRSIR model, to present driving forces, local reactions, landscape state changes, impacts, and responses related to transformations of pastoral landscape in European mountain regions. The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual synthesis of these transformations based on a literature review and structured using the DRSIR framework. The conceptual synthesis enabled the identification of three landscape transformation models: Co-presence, Sequence, and Abandonment. These models reflect varying degrees of interaction between pastoralism and tourism. Co-presence allows for sustainable coexistence or cooperation between traditional pastoralism and tourism which allows the preservation of traditional landscape features. Sequence models illustrate transitions where one function succeeds or suppresses the other, and abandonment reflects the decline of pastoral practices and tourism, often leading to afforestation and loss of landscape and cultural values. The essay highlights landscape consequences of these trajectories. Management responses, guided by legal protection, agri-environmental policies, and sustainable tourism initiatives, can either prevent abandonment or mitigate negative impacts, shaping future landscape scenarios. The DRSIR framework provides a comprehensive lens for understanding these dynamics, supporting spatial planning and landscape management by enabling the identification of dominant relationships between tourism and pastoralism in different mountain regions. Maintaining the evolutionary continuity of traditional landscapes while integrating pastoralism and tourism functions emerges as a key strategy for preserving European mountain landscapes.