The integration of agriculture and biodiversity has become an acknowledged solution to concurrently address the development of sustainable food production systems and the preservation of natural resources. However, there are few alternative farming systems combining agricultural commodities and ecosystem services. We examined the farm and landscape dynamics of an area in South Africa which has been isolated from mainstream agriculture during a large part of last century. We used a time series of aerial photographs as well as farm surveys and interviews to analyze how historical and present trends can explain land use features. Results show that today's landscape is the result of dramatic socioeconomic transforms which have made original transhumant livestock keepers to become sedentary farmers. Although poverty is widespread, we found a well-balanced landscape with a regularly increasing tree cover and a high biodiversity potential. Beyond farm and household size, the main landscape impact factors are herd size and management as well as soil fertility management practices, including fallowing.We show that these conditions represent a good potential towards a multifunctional landscape, provided the relationships between farmers' practices and biodiversity are better formalized and there are tangible benefits for farmers to opt for this approach.