slickspot

noun

1. An area where there is little to no vegetation, usually due to high concentration of salts in the soil.

   “Slickspots present very important problems in crop production, range management, and uses of soils for engineering purposes.”

   “To investigate slickspot formation in the Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA, 16 pairs of pedons, one of each in a slickspot and the other under nearby vegetation (Figure 5.16(a)), were sampled (Reid et al 1993).”