Prescribed burning to reduce the risk of bushfires could do more harm than good in some circumstances, a group of leading environmental scientists say.
They said that deliberately increasing the frequency of fires may lead to loss of biodiversity and degrading of ecosystems.
The findings of the scientists from the University of Western Australia, Perth's Kings Park and Botanic Garden and Kew Gardens in London have been published this month in Trends in Plant Science.
Kew Gardens director Stephen Hopper said prescribed burning may cause more problems because there was little evidence Mediterranean-climate plants such as those found in Australia were fire-adapted.
"Our analysis reveals that it is naive on present evidence to assume that Australian plants are adapted to fire, and that prescribed burning regimes are not only good for the bush but can be applied in any fashion and frequency with impunity.
"Rather, we should be cautious in prescribed burning practices if biodiversity conservation is an aim," Prof Hopper said.
The paper was a plea for closer working relationships between fire managers and scientists to achieve the best outcomes for biodiversity conservation where that was a priority, he said.
The paper's authors argue that the role of fire in developing adaptive traits in Mediterranean-climate plants has never been tested.
They said traits such as smoke-induced germination also occurred in ecosystems which were not fire-prone and such germination was also seen in lettuce and tomatoes.
The paper said preventing an increase in fire frequency, instead of prescribed burning, could be crucial for maintaining soil integrity, water supplies, water quality and biodiversity.
The paper's lead author was Emeritus Professor Don Bradshaw, a Senior Research Fellow at UWA's School of Animal Biology.
His co-authors were Prof Hopper, Professor Kingsley Dixon, director of plant science at Kings Park, and Professor Hans Lambers and Assistant Professor Shane Turner from UWA's School of Plant Biology.