A new international study led by researchers at the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel has called for a major rethink of how Mediterranean landscapes are managed as wildfires intensify.
The research, published in iScience, argues that wildfire prevention should be planned alongside nature conservation, agriculture and rural development rather than treated primarily as a firefighting issue.
The team assessed 10 landscape-planning initiatives across the Mediterranean, examining measures including extensive grazing by cattle, sheep and goats, controlled burning and cooperation between farmers, foresters, conservation groups, scientists and fire services.
The analysis found that approaches combining different land uses and involving multiple groups were generally the most effective.
The researchers concluded that successful wildfire prevention depends on long-term landscape management rather than relying mainly on emergency response once fires have started.
Measures that can reduce combustible vegetation, strengthen rural economies and protect biodiversity could therefore help create landscapes better able to withstand increasingly severe fire conditions.
Wildfires are becoming a wider European threat
The need for this shift is becoming increasingly apparent.
According to Copernicus, Europe recorded around 1.03 million hectares of burnt land in 2025, the highest annual total in its record. Spain and Portugal accounted for much of the damage, while major fires also affected France, Greece and other parts of southern Europe.
The scale of recent fires has also extended beyond traditional high-risk areas. The European Environment Agency (EEA) reports that climate change has increased fire risk across Europe, with longer fire seasons and the expansion of fire-prone areas expected in many regions.
Recent droughts and heatwaves have also brought severe fires to parts of central and northern Europe.
In 2025, Spain recorded around 380,877 hectares of burnt land by the end of August, while Portugal reached approximately 265,139 hectares.
A fire in Zamora, Spain, burned about 40,081 hectares, making it the country’s largest recorded fire since records began in 1968.
Designing landscapes to prevent wildfires
The study highlights extensive grazing as one potential tool because livestock can reduce the amount of vegetation available to fuel fires.
Controlled burning can also lower accumulated fuel loads when carefully planned and implemented under appropriate conditions.
However, the researchers found that individual measures are unlikely to provide a complete solution. Stronger results came from initiatives that combined land management techniques with cooperation between organisations and communities.
This landscape-based approach also creates opportunities to link wildfire prevention with wider environmental objectives. Maintaining agricultural activity, protecting habitats and supporting rural communities can all form part of strategies designed to reduce fire risk.
The researchers say this requires stable partnerships, long-term funding and ongoing collaboration between policymakers, scientists, land managers and emergency services.
Lead author Dr Elsa Varela from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) added: “Wildfires are not just a problem for the forestry sector, but the result of complex interactions between climate, land use and societal developments.
“Our findings show that successful wildfire prevention combines ecological, economic and social objectives and brings relevant stakeholders together.”
From firefighting to wildfire prevention
The findings suggest that responding faster to fires is only one part of the challenge.
As hotter and drier conditions increase the potential for large, rapidly spreading fires, reducing the amount of available fuel and building resilient landscapes could become equally important.
For Mediterranean countries, wildfire prevention therefore increasingly means changing how land is managed before a fire starts, while ensuring that those measures also support biodiversity, agriculture and the communities living within fire-prone landscapes.
