A lack of dead soil (6)

I believe the answer is:

dearth

'a lack of' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'dead soil' is the wordplay.
'dead' becomes 'd' (abbreviation in government records).
'soil' becomes 'earth' (synonyms).
'd'+'earth'='DEARTH'

(Other definitions for dearth that I've seen before include "Severe shortage" , "From shortage of food" , "Scarceness or lack" , "Insufficient amount" , "Acute insufficiency" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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