Prediction of soil cover and soil rock for rangeland infiltration

Abstract

Lane et al. (1987) found that the proportion of bare or covered ground surface under the canopy is important for modeling infiltration in rangeland soils. Using a total of 322 composite plant canopy cover and ground cover measurements collected in Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada, equations were developed for predicting the ground cover under plant canopy from standard resource surveys or remote sensing techniques which primarily measure ground cover outside plant canopy. Equations were developed for predicting (1) percent by weight of soil rock in the top 76 mm of soil from ground cover measurements made outside of plant canopy, and (2) surface rock cover outside plant canopy from soil texture.