South China Karst faces the challenge of balancing ecological conservation and regional development, a task made more intricate by the geological limitations of carbonate formations. Large-scale conservation and restoration initiatives have mitigated rocky desertification and positioned South China Karst as a global hotspot for vegetation regrowth over the past two decades. However, challenges stemming from geological constraints and oversights in recognizing the synergies within social-ecological systems remain. Here, we propose a social-ecological framework that integrates the extended timescale of both historical and recent human impacts with the corresponding processes of forest evolution. The framework elucidates the enduring and continuous progression of “forest-deforestation-reforestation,” offering applicability for optimizing ecological space across diverse social-ecological contexts. Moreover, it serves to enhance the sustainability of reforestation efforts when faced with geological constraints.