Humans spread the sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) in Europe, thereby masking the original range of the species. They cultivated it as a monoculture in mainly two management regimes: coppice and orchard. In the absence of management the chestnut stands tend to be invaded by other tree species, giving way to post-cultural evolutionary dynamics. Comparison of aerial photographs from 1959/60 and 1995 indicates a clear general trend toward mixed and shaded forests and the existence of different evolutionary patterns of orchard and coppice stands.