Wildfires in the Mediterranean region are becoming drastically more intense. The recent major fires in France, Spain and Greece show that firefighting efforts are reaching their limits. An international research team led by the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel is therefore calling for a fundamentally new approach to landscape design: in the journal iScience, the researchers demonstrate that wildfire prevention should be conceived and planned in conjunction with nature conservation, agriculture and rural development.
Using ten landscape planning initiatives in the Mediterranean region as a basis, the team investigated how these affected the risk of wildfires. The models ranged from extensive grazing with cattle, sheep and goats (to reduce combustible biomass) through to controlled burning and collaboration between the agricultural and forestry sectors, nature conservation organisations, the scientific community and the fire services. The result: initiatives that combined different forms of land use, actively involved various social groups and continuously refined their measures proved to be particularly successful. The researchers are therefore advocating a shift in wildfire management from a predominantly reactive approach to firefighting towards a long-term, preventive approach to shaping resilient landscapes.
“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,” explains lead author Dr Elsa Varela from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), who coordinated the study as a Humboldt Fellow at the Chair of Socio-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems at the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel. “A new landscape-based approach offers the opportunity to combine wildfire prevention with biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use. This leads to solutions that are ecologically effective and socially viable,” emphasises Professor Tobias Plieninger from the same chair. “This requires stable partnerships, long-term funding and joint learning processes between science, policy and practice.”
Original publication: Varela, E. et al. Capitalizing on integrated landscape approaches for wildfire risk mitigation in the Mediterranean region. iScience (2026). DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.116741.
Contact:
Professor Tobias Plieninger
University of Göttingen
Chair for social-ecological interactions in agricultural systems
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5, 37073 Göttingen
Phone: +49 551 39-21148
Email: plieninger@uni-goettingen.de
Internet: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/573702.html
(enquiries in English/Spanish:)
Dr Elsa Varela Redondo
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
C. de Albasanz, 26, 28, San Blas-Canillejas, 28037 Madrid, Spain
Phone: +34 916 022 398
Email: elsa.varela@csic.es
Internet: www.ilc.csic.es/en/personal/elsa-varela-redondo
iScience
Observational study
Capitalizing on integrated landscape approaches for wildfire risk mitigation in the Mediterranean region
21-Sep-2026