Playing in the mud can be a fun sensory experience.

Many salamanders search for food and live in the top layers of the soil.

I spend quite a bit of time kneeling in, digging through, and moving around dirt and soil, and as such, I am somewhat aware of the differences between different types of soil and such. Typically, my study doesn’t go particularly in depth and is mostly brought down to noticing whether the soil is more rocky, sandy, or clay-based, and noticing what types of organisms are found in that area.

There is really only one time a year when I put any consideration into breaking down the contents of soil, and that is because I am someone who just really loves tomatoes. I live in an apartment, so I do not have the capacity to plant a large garden directly into the ground. However, I do have a balcony, so I’ve taken up planting herbs and some flowers, but mostly tomatoes in containers over the last several summers to varying success.

Because I am planting in containers and not directly into the ground, I have to figure out what kind of soil to use and where to get it. They make plenty of bags of soil used for potting, but a lot of the time it ends up making more sense for me to buy the components and just mix it up myself to make sure I have enough drainage and nutrients for plants that have no access to replenishing resources.

Soil is also involved in myriad cycles that take place every day on the planet, supporting life in all sorts of ways, and it is a vital ingredient in the success of many organisms. Plants might come to mind first, because most of them grow out of soil and require it to provide nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. When growing plants in pots, these are all things you have to take into consideration when you are facing weird spots on the leaves or just a lack of growth. Plants require varying soil compositions to survive and are adapted to those unique conditions found in different climates and habitats.

Soil is actually made up of a few different components. It is part organic, meaning it contains carbon and comes from living things, and part inorganic, which means those components do not contain carbon and are generally considered nonliving. The inorganic components, making up the bulk of the soil solids, are minerals that come from erosion and weathering of rocks. Often this process begins underground with bedrock.

The organic matter in the soil comes from the process of decomposition. Living things contain carbon, and as those living things die and then break down via scavenger, bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates, they release that carbon back into the earth. Many types of healthy soil can hold carbon pretty effectively for a long time, especially in colder climates. However, some of this carbon does feed microbes in the soil and get dispersed back into the air where plants can take it in through their leaves, producing food for themselves, and oxygen for the rest of us.

Soil is not just the solid stuff though. All of this is interspersed with pockets of air and water that are also vital for living things. There are a number of animals that even more directly rely on certain types or amounts of soil to provide shelters, nesting sites, food storage, and more.

Moles, chipmunks, prairie dogs, and burrowing owls all burrow through the soil, creating homes and methods of travel to keep them safe from predators. An endless number of beetles, spiders, slugs, and snails live and lay eggs in the top layer of soil. Some frogs and salamanders overwinter by burrowing into the soil to escape the frost.

So throughout all of this, does it really matter whether you call it soil or dirt? Can you use the two interchangeably? That might depend on who you are talking to, but in my opinion, as long as you are acknowledging that dirt is more than just an inconvenience to be swept off the floor, or washed out of clothes, and instead is a vital part of just about every place on Earth, then I’m okay with it.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature. ACNC is located just east of Route 62 between Warren and Jamestown. The trails are open from dawn to dusk and birds of prey can be viewed anytime the trails are open. The Nature Center is open from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. daily except Sunday when it opens at 1 p.m. More information can be found online at auduboncnc.org or by calling (716) 569-2345.