Research results of P. pinaster prescribed burning experiments in the Cape Regions of South Africa have proved that this management technique can be applied successfully, without harm to the tree stands and their habitat. The species have an excellent resistance to fire damage, and light intensity fires have in some cases been recorded to provide some short-term benefits to tree growth as a result of the ash-bed effect. However, it has also been observed that prescribed burning results are significantly dependent on the understorey vegetation and fuel-bed status of these stands, particularly in the contrasting fuels found in the species' vegetation and fuel base. Guidelines to the application of fire within these fuels are provided in this paper, with similar fuel appraisal techniques recommended for Mediterranean countries and elsewhere.