Many of the traditionally managed chestnut groves and coppice forests in the canton of Ticino have been abandoned in the second half of the 20th century. The ensuing natural development resulted in homogenized stand structures across the landscape, increasing growing stocks and diminishing provision of ecosystem services (e.g. timber, protection from gravitational hazards, nature conservation and recreation services). We used a forest growth simulator (“Massimo”) to simulate a range of management scenarios and possible consequences. Under the current low intensity management growing stocks and tree mortality continue to increase, which – at a large scale – could further reduce the protection and other services and increase the risk of forest fires. This process could be countered with more intense management practices, yet facing relatively high timber harvesting costs. An optimized forest management in the chestnut belt would require the definition of the dominating forest functions, the designation of priority areas and monetary compensation schemes for the provision of the respective forest ecosystem services.