Even in a low-severity burn, litter dwelling invertebrates, such as crickets, cockroaches and spiders, are vulnerable to the direct effects of flames. Many surface and litter-active invertebrates survive in habitat patches that remain unburned.

Some invertebrates, such as root feeding beetle larvae, earthworms and many species of ants, avoid the direct effects of burns by living in the soil or burrows, or having life stages in the soil below the lethal depth of soil heating. In low-severity burns, some mobile invertebrates can escape upwards into the unburned canopy. Others survive fire in the tightly packed living leaf bases of balga (Xanthorrhoea spp.) and djiridji (Macrozamia riedlei).  

Logs, stumps and fragments of wood can shield invertebrates that live within or under them from radiant heat and can continue to provide habitat after burns. Their fissured interiors offer refuge to invertebrates from radiation and dehydration. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) scientists have documented the effect of burns on survival of logs and found some can persist even during intense fires. 

Damp areas, fallen trees, stumps, rocks, granite surfaces and animal pads can act as barriers to the spread of fire in mild conditions, leaving patches of unburned litter and vegetation in their lee.  

The holes in soil left by previously burnt-out stumps and roots can provide mini caves for invertebrates, such as some species of pie-dish beetles. In jarrah forest, long gone trees can leave depressions in the soil where fallen leaves accumulate, and the micro relief and retained moisture provided by these depressions can sometimes shield the litter from radiant heat and fire spread during prescribed burns.  

As average temperatures have increased and conditions have become drier in south-west Western Australia, there has been a shortening and shifting of the window in which prescribed burning can be conducted. Fuels dry earlier and quicker in spring and summer, and variations in fuel moisture which assist in the creation of refugia are lost earlier. The onset of winter rain to extinguish autumn burning has become later and less reliable. Moist climate refugia such as southern aspects, wetlands, damplands, creek lines and river margins have become more ephemeral and vulnerable to fire. These moist climate refuges are often important for species endemic to limited ranges.

Although a changing climate makes planning more complex, prescribed burning remains essential. Long‑unburned fuels make it difficult to achieve the desired fire severity and to create the patchiness of burned and unburned areas needed for effective bushfire mitigation. These changing climate conditions are carefully considered during the planning and implementation of prescribed burns. 

Without forest management that considers localised and regional effects of climate change and bushfire mitigation, including prescribed burning, we face an era of high-intensity and high-severity bushfires in which refugia from fire will be threatened and reduced. Knowledge-based—including Kaarla Kaatijin, the fire and fire culture knowledge of Noongar Traditional Owners—and thoughtfully planned fuel reduction using prescribed burns remains a useful tool to mitigate the effects of change in jarrah forest. Departmental fire knowledge and Kaarla Kaatijin is different for each forest and woodland type and needs to be renewed constantly in the face of change. Prescribed burning to reduce fuels must consider local context as well as Boodja—Noongar Country in the holistic sense of homeland as place, people, plants and animals, phenomena and culture—and local knowledge sources.