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Agriculture vocabulary · Soil and Land Management

Topsoil

Meaning in agriculture, with examples

nounCommon term

In agriculture, topsoil means: The upper layer of soil, usually a few tens of centimeters deep, which is darker and richer in organic matter, roots and soil life than the layers below.

In Turkish: üst toprak, toprağın üst katmanı, yüzey toprağı

How it is used

Used in soil conservation, construction and gardening. Erosion removes topsoil, and building projects strip and store it. The layer below is called 'subsoil', which is often compacted by heavy machinery.

Example sentences

  1. One heavy storm can wash away several centimeters of topsoil from a bare slope.

  2. Take samples from the topsoil, at a depth of 0 to 30 centimeters.

Common collocations

  • fertile topsoil
  • loss of topsoil
  • topsoil and subsoil
  • strip the topsoil
  • soilThe loose upper layer of the earth, made of minerals, organic matter, water and air, in which plants grow and take up water and nutrients.
  • soil erosionThe loss of the top layer of soil when it is carried away by water or wind, often made worse by bare ground, slopes and heavy tillage.
  • organic matterThe part of the soil formed from decaying plant and animal material; it holds water and nutrients and improves soil structure.
  • plowA farm implement pulled by a tractor that cuts and turns over the top layer of soil to bury residues and weeds and prepare land for sowing.
  • tillageThe preparation of soil for growing crops by mechanical work such as plowing, harrowing or cultivating.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Soil and Land Management

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