The fine fuel in savannas comprises twigs, dead grass and leaf litter. Burning of this fuel transfers carbon and plant nutrients to the atmosphere as gases, fine particles, and charred fragments of vegetation. The transfers of nitrogen are likely to be the main loss of concern for savanna's nutrient budget. Under annual burning at Kapalga, the losses of nitrogen were estimated to be about 20 kg/ha. This amount is likely to exceed the rates of fixation by legumes and other nitrogen-fixing components of the ecosystem. Other work suggests that increasing fire frequency is associated with decreasing nitrogen concentrations in plant tissues. This decrease in vegetation quality may affect the fauna, but this has not been demonstrated.

Emissions of trace gases from fires were measured at Kapalga and other Top End savannas, and these measurements have been used in calculating Australia's emissions of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas produced by bushfires. The quantities of CO2 released by savanna burning in Australia are similar to those released from all industrial sources and transport. However, unlike fossil fuel, savannas regrow after a fire, taking up roughly equivalent amounts of CO2 to those released. Therefore, in the Australian inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 releases are not taken into account. Nevertheless, because the CO2 is emitted some months before uptake, it could be argued that these emissions are having some net effects on levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are other important greenhouse gases released from savanna burning. Respectively, these gases have 21 and 310 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. The release of these gases from savanna burning accounts for roughly two and a half percent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. On a regional basis, they are much more significant. In the Northern Territory, for example, release of these gases accounts for about one quarter of emissions.

Savanna burning releases many gases that are potentially of concern for human health. However, monitoring equipment of the NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment (NT DLPE) at Berrimah shows that concentrations of the main gases of concern, sulphur dioxide (SO2) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) remain well below levels that affect health. The main concern is fine airborne particles, which have an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm and are produced by fires. The National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) has set an air quality standard of 50 µg/m3 for a 24-hour average for these particles. The standard allows five exceedence days per year. Up until the beginning of September 2000, the NT DLPE equipment has shown only one exceedence day this year.

In order to reduce nutrient losses and emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants, the average amount of fuel burnt needs to decrease. This is not necessarily best achieved by trying to exclude fires from savannas, but by using fires strategically at a landscape scale to reduce the overall severity of the fire regime in terms of frequency, intensity and extent.