{rfName}
Ed

Indexed in

License and Use

Icono OpenAccess

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Tolosana Esteban, EduardoAuthor

Share

February 18, 2026
Publications
>
Article

Educate to Prevent: Best Practices of University Service in Wildfire Prevention within the Framework of the 'Facing the Fire' Project (2020-2025)

Publicated to: Cuadernos de Investigacion Geografica. 51 (2): 173-202 - 2025-01-01 51(2), DOI: 10.18172/cig.6892

Authors:

Cobo Sanchez, Beatriz; Merino, Agustin; Omil, Beatriz; Garcia Romero, David; Ruiz Gallardo, Jose Reyes; Moya Navarro, Daniel; Lorenzo Moledo, Mar; Girona-Garcia, Antonio; Garcia-Carmona, Minerva; Roces-Diaz, Jose Valentin; Santin, Cristina; Madrigal Olmo, Javier; Lara Lopez, Eva Luna; De Paula, Sara; Carrillo, Cristina; Guijarro, Mercedes; Fajardo Cantos, Alvaro; Ledo Moure, Alberto; Carlos Rodriguez, Juan; Boucard Aguado, Monica; Monzon Atance, Alberto; Cantalejo Coserria, Alba; Tolosana Esteban, Eduardo; Mendez Fernandez, Roi; Badia-Villas, David; Cotillas Cruz, Alejandro; Melero, Maria; Molina Martinez, Juan Ramon; Leverkus, Alexandro B; Torres Muros, Lucia; Sanchez, Jose; Aguilera, David; Arcenegui Baldo, Victoria; Mataix-Solera, Jorge; Marcos, Elena; Alvarez Taboada, Flor; Reyes Ferreira, Otilia; Mourente Blanco, Roberto; Fernandez Riveiro, Sheila; Cruz De La Fuente, Oscar; Taboada Iglesias, Maria Jesus; Puentes Grana, Aurora; Facal Martinez, Josefa; Ubeda, Xavier; Carracedo Martin, Virginia; Perez, Andrea; Fernandez Sanchez, Maria; Pereiro Sanchez, David; Teijeiro Cruz, Ana; Mendez Vales, Victor; Cuenca Honrubia, Carmen Archana; Tevar Alarcon, Cristian; Monteagudo Talavera, Francisco; Perez Pastor, Veronica; Souza-Alonso, Pablo
[+]

Affiliations

Consejeria Educ, IES Escorial, Madrid, Comunidad Madri, Spain - Author
IES Lucus Augusti, Lugo, Galicia, Spain - Author
IES Terras Xallas, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Inst Nacl Invest & Tecnol Agr & Alimentaria, Inst Ciencias Forestales, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Fac Geog & His, Barcelona, Cataluna, Spain - Author
Univ Cantabria, Fac Filosofia & Letras, Cantabria, Spain - Author
Univ Castilla La Mancha UCLM, Fac Educ, Albacete, Castilla La Man, Spain - Author
Univ Castilla La Mancha, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Agronom & Montes Biotecno, Albacete, Castilla La Man, Spain - Author
Univ Cordoba, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Agronom & Montes, Cordoba, Andalucia, Spain - Author
Univ Granada UGR, Fac Ciencias Educ, Granada, Andalucia, Spain - Author
Univ Granada, Dept Ecol, Ave Fuentenueva S-N, Granada 18071, Spain - Author
Univ Leon, Dept Biodiversidad & Gest Ambiental, Fac Ciencias Biol & Ambientales, Leon, Spain - Author
Univ Leon, Escuela Ingn Agr & Forestal, Leon, Castilla Y Leon, Spain - Author
Univ Miguel Hernandez UMH, Alicante, Comunidad Valen, Spain - Author
Univ Oviedo Principado Asturias, Inst Mixto Invest Biodiversidad IMIB, CSIC, Oviedo, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid UPM, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Santiago de Compostela, Area Elect & Comp, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Univ Santiago de Compostela, Escuela Politecn Super Ingn, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Univ Santiago de Compostela, Fac Biol, GI BIOAPLIC, Area Ecol, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Univ Santiago de Compostela, Fac Ciencias Comunicac, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Univ Santiago de Compostela, Fac Formac Profesorado, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Univ Santiago de Compostela, La Coruna, Galicia, Spain - Author
Univ Zaragoza, Escuela Politecn Super Campus Huesca, Aragon, Spain - Author
World Wildlife Fund WWF, Madrid, Spain - Author
Xunta Galicia, Conselleria Medio Rural, Santiago, Spain - Author
See more

Abstract

In recent decades, problems associated with forest fires have intensified, particularly in the Mediterranean Basin, posing a serious threat to ecosystems and human populations. Although their frequency has decreased, wildfires have become more intense and severe, often exceeding suppression capacity, as evidenced by the emergence of sixth-generation fires on the Iberian Peninsula. Multiple factors contribute to this situation, including socio-economic dynamics (depopulation, land-use change), inadequate forest management, insufficient public policies, and climate change-further exacerbated by misinformation and media sensationalism. Within this socio-environmental context, and given the need for high-quality information, it is essential to strengthen the capacity of future specialists in prevention and restoration through a variety of strategies: on the one hand, improving forest management in order to create stands that hinder the spread of wildfires and enhance post-fire regeneration; and on the other hand, addressing ignition sources by raising public awareness of their underlying causes. The Plantando Cara al Fuego (PCF) initiative aims to improve environmental awareness and foster citizen participation in combating forest fires by involving the public in projects that apply academic knowledge to community needs. To this end, PCF develops educational innovation projects based on the Service-Learning (S-L) pedagogical approach, which integrates university education with forest-fire prevention and restoration efforts. The aim of this study is to compile experiences carried out between 2020 and 2025 in different Spanish regions, in which university students from various degree programmes have implemented S-L projects to address real community challenges related to forest fires through the design and development of activities in collaboration with public and private entities. A total of 35 projects is analyzed and classified into five categories (prevention, restoration, training, multidisciplinary and dissemination). These projects are examined alongside indicators of their educational and social impact, including the number of participating students, collaborating companies and institutions, outputs produced, bachelor's and master's theses completed, and the actual population reached. The results show that Service-Learning strengthens students' professional skills and environmental commitment, thereby contributing to sustainable land management.
[+]

Keywords

Citizen participationForest firesMitigationService-learningSocial awareness

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Cuadernos de Investigacion Geografica due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Geography, Planning and Development. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q4 for the agency WoS (JCR) in the category Geography, Physical.

[+]

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-09:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 5 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Additionally, the work has been submitted to a journal classified as Diamond in relation to this type of editorial policy.
[+]