Ecologists have identified a second way in which smoke benefits fire-dependent plants. We know that smoke induces seeds to germinate. Now it has been shown that chemicals in smoke called karrikins (after "karrik," the Noongar word for "smoke") makes plants more sensitive to lower levels of reddish light, and triggers seeds not only to sprout, but to grow with thicker, sturdier stems.

A chemical ‘smoke signal' enables seeds and seedlings to better ‘see' the light and to adapt their growth to the new conditions, according to researchers at The University of Western Australia.