What is clearing and grubbingin construction?

Clearing is the removal of everything above the ground surface: trees, brush, vegetation, and downed timber. Grubbing is the removal of what is below it: stumps, root mats, and buried organic debris, typically to a depth stated in the spec. They are bid together because the same equipment and limits apply, but grubbing is the slower, more expensive half, and the stump holes it leaves must be backfilled and compacted before grading starts.

There is no single rate, because density drives everything: light brush might run a few thousand dollars per acre while dense mature timber with full haul-off can run several times that. The honest approach is to classify the site into density bands, price each band from your own history, and carry disposal as its own line tied to haul distance and tipping fees. Timber with merchantable value can sometimes offset part of the cost.

Usually not. Clearing and grubbing removes vegetation and roots; topsoil stripping is a separate grading operation that follows it, measured in cubic yards and often stockpiled for reuse. The Division 31 specs typically separate the two, and so should the estimate. Also confirm whether stump hole backfill and compaction sits in the clearing line or the earthwork line, so it is carried once and not missed in both.