Social-cultural values of oak wood-pastures and transhumance in Greece

In Greece oaks can form ‘woodlands’ (i.e. where significant grazing has traditionally been prohibited) or ‘wood-pastures’ (i.e. where grazing and woody vegetation co-occurred) (Rackham, 2013). Both types of oak tree landscapes have been used and appreciated by different societies and land management systems in the Mediterranean; they frequently host intangible cultural values, whether spiritual, aesthetic or recreational. Young (2013) gives evidence of the complex and very diverse uses of the oak in the wider European culture, for example in mythologies, folklore, literature, art and religion.