chernozem

American  

[chur-nuh-zem, chair-, chyir-nuh-zyawm] / ˈtʃɜr nəˌzɛm, ˈtʃɛər-, tʃyɪr nʌˈzyɔm /

noun

1. a soil common in cool or temperate semiarid climates, very black and rich in humus and carbonates.

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chernozem British  

/ ˈtʃɜːnəʊˌzɛm /

noun

1. a black soil, rich in humus and carbonates, in cool or temperate semiarid regions, as the grasslands of Russia

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Etymology

Origin of chernozem

1835–45; < Russian chernozëm, equivalent to chërn ( yĭ ) black + -o- -o- + -zëm, variant, in compounds, of zemlyá earth, land; humus

Example Sentences

Ukraine's most fertile soil - called chernozem - has suffered the most, the institute found.

From Reuters • Mar. 1, 2023

In the grasslands of the dry southern parts of the prairie provinces and in some of the drier parts of southern B.C., dark brown organic-rich chernozem soils are dominant.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

When man plows a chernozem, his wheat or corn thrive mightily.

From Time Magazine Archive

Gradually the thin, sour forest soil turns into something like chernozem.

From Time Magazine Archive

This is the black earth known as chernozem, which is rich in humus.

From Area Handbook for Romania by Bernier, Donald W.