Sod

sod

a piece of grass-covered surface soil held together by the roots of the grass; turf

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sod

The upper layer of soil covered by grass and containing the grass roots.

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Sod 

the surface layer of soil with interwoven live and dead roots, runners, and rhizomes of perennial grasses. Sod contains a large amount of organic matter. It is most developed in virgin steppes and in meadows, where it serves as an effective means of holding and absorbing moisture. The destruction of sod in plowing or by grazing often causes soil erosion. Sod protects the slopes of earthen structures from water and wind erosion. The best means of tilling sod on turfy arable soils is by plowing with plows having skim colters; the quality of the plowing is improved by preliminary disking. Turfy marshy soils are cultivated with rotary tillers or plows, followed by harrowing.

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Sod 

pieces of turf, cut mostly in rectangular sections. It is used for quickly grassing areas of ground not covered with vegetation, for strengthening slopes of dams and railroad beds, and for other purposes, such as for lawns and for repairing lawns when laying out public gardens.