Introduction [to Transect of Coexistence. Inquiry into Nature, Art, and Habitat]

This introduction frames Chapter 4, Grasses & Pastures: Imagining a Regenerative Economy, which explores grasses and pastures as key ecological, cultural, and relational elements in human–environment systems. Historically central to subsistence, landscape formation, and material practices, grasses have shaped rural and mountain environments through long-standing processes of transformation and care. Today, these fragile ecosystems face increasing pressure from climate change, soil degradation, and the erosion of local knowledge.

Beyond their productive function, grasses are presented as agents of biodiversity, resilience, and regeneration, structuring soils, supporting multispecies networks and inhabiting both rural and urban contexts, including so-called “third landscapes.” Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from geography, anthropology, architecture, and artistic practice, the chapter positions mountain pastures as an exemplary site for rethinking circular and regenerative economies beyond linear extractive models, emphasizing multispecies coexistence, seasonal rhythms, and ecological stewardship.