CHANGES IN GROUND COVER ON THE CASCABEL WATERSHEDS FOLLOWING THREE BURNING EVENTS

Knowledge of the percentages of the ground cover components of plant material (foliage, twigs, and branches), litter (the uppermost layer of "slightly decomposed " dead organic debris on a mineral soil surface), bare soil (cobble, gravel, and stones), and bedrock on a soil surface is useful in predicting the rates of hillslope soil erosion (Renard et aL 1997) and indicating the successional status of vegetative communities on a site (Bedell 1998). The level of protection that is afforded a site by vegetation and soil in relation to that of the "potential natural community" has been estimated from knowing the cumulative percentages of bare soil and bedrock (Magurran 1988). Estimates of the percentages of plant material, litter, bare soil, and bedrock in oak savannas on th