sierozem
noun
si·er·o·zem
sē¦erə¦zem
variants or serozem
¦ser-
plural -s
: any of a group of zonal soils that are brownish gray at the surface and lighter colored below, based in a carbonate layer or a hardpan layer, and characteristic of temperate to cool arid regions with mixed shrub vegetation
Word History
Etymology
Russian serozem, from seryĭ gray + zemlya earth; akin to Lithuanian žemė earth, Latin humus