Investing in prescribed burning: how much should we spend?

This briefing note explores the impacts of changing the level of investment in prescribed burning in the south west of Western Australia. By evaluating the impacts of increasing and decreasing the area subjected to prescribed burning annually, this research identified the threshold point for maximising the benefits of prescribed burning.

Broadly, the study found that in the long-term, not conducting any prescribed burning for several years can be very costly, leading to large increases in damages and suppression expenditures. Results identify a threshold point (10% of public land) up to which substantial economic benefits may be gained from increasing the area subjected to prescribed burning. But beyond this threshold, prescribed burning generates little additional economic benefits.