ground cover

also ground·cov·er (ground′kŭv′ər)

1. Small plants other than saplings, such as mosses, ferns, grasses, and low shrubs, growing on a forest floor.

a. A low-growing dense growth of plants, such as pachysandra or crown vetch, planted for ornamental purposes or to prevent soil erosion in areas where turf is difficult to grow, as in deep shade or on a steep slope.

b. A plant used for such a growth.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ground cover

(Botany)

a. dense low herbaceous plants and shrubs that grow over the surface of the ground, esp, in a forest, preventing soil erosion or, in a garden, stifling weeds

b. (as modifier): ground-cover plants.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ground′ cov`er

1. the herbaceous plants and low shrubs in a forest, considered as a whole.

2. any of various low-growing plants and trailing vines used for covering the ground, esp. where grass is difficult to grow.

[1895–1900]

ground cover

Low-growing plants that are grown to smother the ground and suppress weeds.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	ground cover - low-growing plants planted in deep shade or on a steep slope where turf is difficult to grow groundcover botany, flora, vegetation - all the plant life in a particular region or period; "Pleistocene vegetation"; "the flora of southern California"; "the botany of China" Hernaria glabra, rupturewort - common prostrate Old World herb often used as a ground cover; formerly reputed to cure ruptures whitlowwort - any of various low-growing tufted plants of the genus Paronychia having tiny greenish flowers and usually whorled leaves; widespread throughout warm regions of both Old and New Worlds; formerly thought to cure whitlows (suppurative infections around a fingernail) pearlweed, pearl-weed, pearlwort - any of various low-growing plants of the genus Sagina having small spherical flowers resembling pearls baby tears, baby's tears, Helxine soleirolia, Soleirolia soleirolii - prostrate or creeping Corsican herb with moss-like small round short-stemmed leaves
	2.	ground cover - small plants other than saplings growing on a forest floor groundcover underbrush, undergrowth, underwood - the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest

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References in classic literature

Inaccessible and wonderfully extended over this soil covered with picturesque projections!

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For conservation of such unique associations, the soil cover should be maintained in its natural status or under extensive but low-productivity management conditions, such as mowing or pasture.

Interrelationships between soil cover and plant cover depending on land use/Muld- ja taimkatte vastastikused seosed soltuvalt maakasutusest

Observed slope % and rainfall intensity (mm [min.sup.-1]) for each treatment combination of soil cover and target simulated rainfall intensity.

Runoff and sediment yield under simulated rainfall on hillslopes in the Loess Plateau of China

* Placement of soil cover over the remaining contamination in the Oxbow to facilitate enhanced natural recovery and preserve valuable habitat;

Cleanup decision announced for Woonasquatucket River in Rhode Island

Systematized parameters of mean annual turnover of SOC according to soils and land use are needed for the introduction of sustainable management and ecologically sound protection of soil cover (Korchens et al., 1998; Lal et al., 1998; Halvorson et al., 2002).

Stocks and annual fluxes of organic carbon in the mineral soil cover of Estonia/Orgaanilise susiniku varud ja aastavood Eesti mineraalmuldades

From the agronomic point of view, one of the factors taken into account by producers, before planting, is the soil cover. In general, the soil cover is used to minimize the effects of erosion, conserve soil moisture by reducing evapotranspiration, control the use of irrigation water in the range of the crop plants and reduce the growth of weeds.

Fruit size and quality of pineapples cv. Vitoria in response to micronutrient doses and way of application and to soil covers/Qualidade do fruto de abacaxi 'Vitoria' sob adubacao

The continuous channel of straw through the soil cover will allow moisture and gases to escape.

Outdoor root cellars: five easy ways to store fresh food for winter right in your garden--it's as easy as tossing a bagful of leaves over a patch of carrots!

Various factors, like vegetation cover, soil cover, precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, soil texture, desertification potential, land forms and land use attributes were used to identify the land degradation problems in each soil geomorphologic unit.

Land degradation assessment in the southern dry lands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: A case study in Pezu and Tank region of Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa

It is assumed that soil cover shielding remains constant for the time period that the TCN are produced in the sampled surface, which is the time required to convert [LAMBDA]/E to soil (where the cosmic ray attenuation length, [LAMBDA], is ~60 cm in rock, and E = the local soil production rate) and is typically ~[10.sup.4] to [10.sup.5] years.

Exploring pedogenesis via nuclide-based soil production rates and OSL-based bioturbation rates

early boll set), and color of soil cover. Table 3 presents analysis of variance of the effects of these factors, and their interactions, on the amounts of volatile terpenes per weight of leaf.

Morphogenic light reflected to developing cotton leaves affects insect-attracting terpene concentrations

Taken out of grain production, hillsides can be planted in orchards or with grass, which provides a far better soil cover than grain crops.

Rainwater Harvesting Agriculture in Gansu Province, People's Republic of China

soil cover is required to prevent odors, blowing litter, vectors, and minimize the risk of fires, as well as improve the general housekeeping and appearance of the facility.

Sanitary landfill cover materials compared