A Berlese-sample survey was conducted over an 8-month period to determine the manner in which a prescribed burn affected arthropod abundance in a relict pine-oak forest of central Texas. One arthropod taxon (i. e., Diplopoda) was more abundant in the burned section than in the control, one (i. e., Psocoptera) was less abundant, and juvenile stages of holometabolous taxa in general were found in much lower numbers in the burned section, but there was no significant difference between numbers of adults of most taxa even during this nearly immediate post-burn analysis. Such findings are of interest to those concerned with the preservation of the endangered Houston toad, Bufo houstonenis Sanders, and to those who wish to restore the forest to a more natural condition with increased plant and animal diversity through the agency of prescribed burns.