desert soil

noun

Definition of desert soil

: a soil that develops under sparse shrub vegetation in warm to cool arid climates with a light-colored surface soil usually underlain by calcareous material and a hardpan layer

Recent Examples of desert soil from the Web

Those results were bolstered by others showing that different kinds of bacteria and fungi were present in different layers of desert soil.

— The Economist, "Waiting for rainLife clings on in the driest corners of the Earth," 1 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'desert soil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of desert soil

circa 1938

in the meaning defined above

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