Land Clearing Terms Every Homeowner Should Know

Contractors throw these words around like everyone grew up on a dozer. Here’s what they actually mean — in plain English, from the homeowner’s side of the estimate.

Forestry mulching

Grinding brush and trees into mulch right where they stand with a drum-toothed machine. Nothing hauled, nothing burned, topsoil untouched. Our core service.

Brush hogging

Heavy-duty rotary mowing. Knocks down field growth and light brush but leaves stems and doesn’t grind — think haircut, not removal.

Grubbing

Digging out roots and stumps below grade with an excavator or dozer. Disturbs soil heavily — usually only needed where you’ll pour or build.

Selective clearing

Removing the junk growth while keeping trees you want — the marked walnut stays, the multiflora goes.

Defensible space

A cleared buffer around structures so a grass or brush fire can’t reach them. More here.

Right-of-way (ROW)

A strip of land someone else has a legal right to use or keep clear — utilities, pipelines, shared drives.

Mobilization / trip fee

What it costs to get the machine to you. Ours is zero locally and always discussed before the quote.

DBH

Diameter at breast height — how tree size is measured. Our mulcher handles roughly 8″ DBH and under standing.

Related: Quote Terms Decoded · Mulcher Parts Glossary · FAQ