The Complutense Research Group on Forest Geography, Policy and Socioeconomics (UCM-930329) works on forest landscape structures and dynamics, particularly on land tenure systems, forest resources management, and land use changes which lead to new territories at risk.

For the last ten years, the Research Group has specialized on the social aspects of fire use and wildfire risk. We are currently reconstructing the fire history in the Iberian Peninsula since the 16th century, from a systematic and intensive survey of historical archives and using methods of Historical Geography, Environmental History and Pyrogeography.

 Key words:

Afforestation, archival sources, Environmental History, fire use, governance, Historical Geography, land ownership, land use planning, mountain areas, National Forest Programmes, natural and cultural heritage, natural hazards, natural tourism, protected forest areas, Pyrogeography, sustainable forest management, rural development, wildland fires