---
title: "What Is Soil settling? Stump Grinding Glossary | Cincinnati Stump Grinding"
description: "Soil settling is the slow sinking of the ground over a ground stump as buried wood rots and leaves empty space where the roots and stump used to be."
url: https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/soil-settling
publisher: Cincinnati Stump Grinding
phone: +1-513-587-6772
quote: https://cincystump.multisites.ai/contact
---

Soil

# Soil settling

Soil settling is the slow sinking of the ground over a ground stump as buried wood rots and leaves empty space where the roots and stump used to be.

Soil settling is the ground sinking in over time. Where a stump was ground, wood and roots remain underground. As they rot, they shrink and leave gaps, and the soil above drops into them.

Purdue Extension says there will be significant settling of the ground below the stump as it decays and loses its structural fiber. It suggests adding soil to the stump area, with a little extra mounded up to make up for some decay.

Settling can leave a dip in the lawn months or years later. You can top it up with [topsoil](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/topsoil) and reseed or lay [sod](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/sod). Lightly firming [backfill](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/backfill) as you place it helps too. See [does the hole sink after stump grinding](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/guides/does-the-hole-sink-after-stump-grinding).

[From Cincinnati Stump GrindingChip haul-away and topsoil](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/services/chip-haul-away-topsoil)

## Related terms

-   [Backfill](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/backfill)
-   [Topsoil](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/topsoil)
-   [Natural decay](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/natural-decay)
-   [Sod](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/sod)
-   [Stump grindings](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/stump-grindings)

## Sources

1.  [Purdue Extension: Can I Plant Grass Over Newly Removed Stump](https://extension.purdue.edu/news/2021/06/Question-Can-I-Plant-Grass-Over-Newly-Removed-Stump.html)
2.  [Purdue Extension: Can I Plant Grass Over Newly Removed Stump](https://extension.purdue.edu/news/2021/06/Question-Can-I-Plant-Grass-Over-Newly-Removed-Stump.html)