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What Is Dirt? Check Out The Whole Wriggling World Alive In The Ground Beneath Our Feet

Dig into soil and you’ll find rock dust but also thousands of living species

By Brian Darby, University of North Dakota
Mar 29, 2024 2:00 PMMar 29, 2024 11:04 PM
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ChristinLola/iStock/Getty Images Plus

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When you think about dirt, you’re probably picturing soil. There’s so much more going on under our feet than the rock dust, or “dirt,” that gets on your pants.

When I began studying soil, I was amazed at how much of it is actually alive. Soil is teeming with life, and not just the earthworms that you see on rainy days.

Keeping this vibrant world healthy is crucial for food, forests and flowers to grow and for the animals that live in the ground to thrive. Here’s a closer look at what’s down there and how it all works together.

Soil is a vibrant ecosystem. Gabriel Jimenez via Unsplash, CC BY-SA

The Rocky Part of Soils

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