Samples of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) humus were burned under different moisture and fuel load scenarios to model humus consumption. For moisture levels below 120% on a dry mass basis, a parabolic increase of humus remaining with increasing moisture content was observed while, for higher moisture levels up to 300%, humus was reduced by a constant 10–15% on a dry mass basis. Both fuel load and humus moisture had a highly significant influence on humus consumption. Humus gross calorific value of Scots pine (19 509 KJ kg^–1) is lower than that of other pine species. We found a desorption time-lag for humus moisture of 85 h in this study. Field data show a steady accumulation of humus in Central European Scots pine stands (up to 45 t ha^–1 in 120-year-old stands). Amounts of litter remain constant over the different stand ages (~15 t ha^–1). This study provides important information to predict humus consumption in Scots pine stands. The results can be used to build a fire severity and post-fire succession model for Scots pine stands in Central Europe.