Abandoned landscapes, burning forests
Can preventive forest management reduce megafires in Spain?
Climate change is increasingly linked to the rise of extreme wildfires in Mediterranean countries like Spain. Higher temperatures, longer droughts, and more frequent heatwaves are creating ideal conditions for large and fast-spreading fires. Recent research shows that megafires are closely associated with anomalously hot, windy conditions acting on stressed fuels and multi-month drought (Ghasemiazma et al., 2026). However, climate change alone does not fully explain why megafires have become more severe in recent decades.
Land management and socioecological changes also play a key role. Rural abandonment and the decline of traditional land-use practices have transformed many Mediterranean landscapes into highly flammable environments. As farming and grazing decrease, vegetation builds up and creates continuous fuel loads that allow fires to spread more easily. Each large fire is increasingly burning more surface area, fires are appearing more frequently outside summer months, and the trend in burned area per fire is clearly growing (Úbeda et al., 2021). Wildfire policy in Spain has often focused more on suppression than prevention and suppression alone is reaching its limits.
This is why preventive forest management deserves more attention as a climate adaptation strategy. Two approaches stand out in particular. First, prescribed burning has been used experimentally in Andalucía to lower fuel loads and reduce fire intensity (Rodríguez y Silva, 2000). Low-intensity prescribed fires represent a feasible alternative to prevent high-intensity wildfires that exceed suppression capacity (Dalmau Rovira et al., 2022). Second, extensive grazing helps maintain more open and less flammable landscapes. Research in the Sierra de las Nieves found that pastoral grazing on firebreaks could avoid up to 75% of mechanical clearing costs, making it a financially competitive prevention tool (Varela-Redondo et al., 2008).
One key challenge is public understanding. Prescribed burning and tree thinning are often seen as harmful, even though they are designed to reduce risk. Fear-based communication around wildfires can make people more hostile to all types of fire, including controlled burns (Christianson et al., 2011). Wildfire mitigation programs built on genuine two-way dialogue with communities are more likely to be accepted and lead to real participation (Christianson et al., 2011).
Preventing megafires is not only about climate change, it is about how we manage landscapes every day. Spain could serve as a model for other fire-prone regions, where prevention and active management become essential tools for adapting to climate futures.
References
- Christianson, A., McGee, T. & Jardine, C. (2011). Canadian wildfire communication strategies. Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 26(3), 40–51.
- Dalmau Rovira, F. et al. (2022). Quemas prescritas. Una oportunidad efectiva ante los nuevos incendios forestales. Revista Incendios y Riesgos Naturales, 8, 10–13.
- Ghasemiazma, F., Tonini, M., Fiorucci, P. & Turco, M. (2026). Megafires in Mediterranean Europe: the compound role of fire weather and drought. npj Natural Hazards, 3, 33.
- Rodríguez y Silva, F. (2000). Empleo de quemas prescritas en la prevención de incendios forestales: aplicación a la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía. ETSI Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
- Úbeda, X., Mataix-Solera, J., Francos, M. & Farguell, J. (2021). Grandes incendios forestales en España y alteraciones de su régimen en las últimas décadas. In Geografia, Riscos e Proteção Civil, vol. 2, 147–161.
- Varela-Redondo, E. et al. (2008). El pastoreo en la prevención de incendios forestales. Pequeños Rumiantes, 9(3), 12–20.