Aim of study: The goal of this paper is to analyse the importance of the main contributing factors to the occurrence of wildfires.Area of study: We employ data from the region of Galicia during 2001-2010; although the similarities shared between this area and other rural areas may allow extrapolation of the present results.Material and Methods: The spatial dependence is analysed by using the Moran's I and LISA statistics. We also conduct an econometric analysis modelling both, the number of fires and the relative size of afflicted woodland area as dependent variables, which depend on the climatic, land cover variables, and socio-economic characteristics of the affected areas. Fixed effects and random effect models are estimated in order to control for the heterogeneity between the Forest Districts in Galicia.Main results: Moran's I and LISA statistics show that there is spatial dependence in the occurrence of Galician wildfires. Econometrics models show that climatology, socioeconomic variables, and temporal trends are also important to study both, the number of wildfires and the burned-forest ratio.Research highlights: We conclude that in addition to direct forest actions, other agricultural or social public plans, can help to reduce wildfires in rural areas or wildland-urban areas. Based on these conclusions, a number of guidelines are provided that may foster the development of better forest management policies in order to reduce the occurrence of wildfires.

Agradecimientos a: María Loureiro agradece la financiación recibida a través del programa ERANET-BIODIVERSA, proyecto "FIREMAN", número EUI2008-03685.Recibido en mayo de 2011. Aceptado en enero de 2012.REsumEn: El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la relevancia de los múltiples factores socio-económi-cos, agrarios y ambientales en la ocurrencia de los incendios forestales en Galicia. Los modelos econométri-cos presentados analizan el número de incendios ocurridos así como el número de hectáreas quemadas, en función de los múltiples factores indicados. A raíz de los resultados obtenidos, se concluye que determinadas políticas públicas preventivas diseñadas hacia una reorientación el sector agro-ganadero, el cuidado de la pirámide poblacional y un mejor aprovechamiento de los usos del suelo, pueden ayudar a disminuir los incendios forestales en Galicia de forma significativa.PALABRAs CLAVEs: Relación causa-efecto, factores socio-económicos, climatología, regresión.Clasificación JEL: Q23, Q51. The causality of wildfires in GaliciaABsTRACT: The goal of this research is to analyze the importance of the main factors contributing to the occurrence of wildfires in Galicia. The econometric models are specified taking into account as a dependent variable the number of fires and affected area, while these depend on a number of explanatory variables, including climatic and socio-economic characteristics. Based on the obtained results, we conclude that public policies should be oriented to re-structuring the agro-livestock sector, considering the evolution of the population pyramid, and new land uses. Such policies can help to reduce wildfires in Galicia.

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Gamification consists in modifying the contents of a certain subject or course in a gamelike manner through dynamics, mechanics and components. Through this process, a greater motivation and involvement of the student can be achieved, while also encouraging the development of certain skills as well as autonomous learning. This paper describes the process of implementing a gamification tool for the subject "Statistics Applied to the Tourism Sector" of the Degree in Tourism with the aim of presenting a dynamic and attractive training process for the student. The tool is developed from a transversal point of view which allows its implementation in similar subjects of higher education. Concretely, a narrative is developed around the professional promotion of the student within a fictitious hotel company where (s)he will reach a higher professional rank as the game progresses and (s)he passes a series of tests and/or events. This narrative encourages the student's intrinsic interest in the activity, while reinforcing the usefulness of the game itself for future professional experiences.

Wildfires in Galicia have various temporal and spatial trends. This temporal and spatial behavior must therefore be studied and taken into account in order to design more efficient forest policies. Since both factors are inhomogeneous, it was proposed to study them using a Gini index decomposition. The number of fires and the affected forest area were studied in terms of the months and the forest districts, which serve as basic temporal and spatial elements. The objective of this methodology is to know the months in which the fires are most concentrated throughout the administrative geographical districts of the various provinces of Galicia, and the elasticity of each month with respect to the global concentration. It is also used to know the temporal inequality in each forest district of Galicia and its contribution to the global index. To apply this methodology, monthly data are taken from 2006 to 2015 for each of the Galician forest districts. It is found that there is a high spatial concentration of fires in the autumn and winter months, and a much lower one in the remaining months. On the other hand, most districts register a great temporal inequality in the occurrence of fires. Tentative suggestions of how the forest policy in Galicia could be improved by taking into account both these spatial and temporal patterns are discussed.