Well, now that I’ve reviewed up the definition of detritus, not a whole lot.
😂 I would say that detritus is coarser and implies the sense being recognizeable as having been part of a larger whole.
I meant it in the sense of organic debris: leaf litter and such. I think of dirt as being finer and relatively uniform. Water + dirt = mud. Water + detritus = clean detritus.
What I meant was that worms sustain themselves on organic material, and, after they break it down, it is more incorporated in to the soil.
Theres is a whole other discussion to be had whether dirt ≈ soil…
I’ll take a shot. “Detritus” is the easier part: it’s decaying plant and animal matter. So the worms are eating leaves and stuff after it’s started breaking down.
“Dirt” is a little more difficult because it doesn’t have as crisp of a definition. Usually when people say “dirt” in this context, they mean “soil,” but that’s only a little better. The relevant definition for soil is, “the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed and in which plants grow.”
That detritus gets broken down by bacteria and becomes soil even without worms, but worms do basically the same thing faster. Plus their moving around helps loosen the soil, which also is helpful for growing plants.
Worms don’t eat dirt. They eat detritus and poop dirt.
Genuinely curious - what is the difference between detritus and dirt?
e,t,u and s
Sometimes I wish Lemmy had awards just like Reddit. Here, take this instead: 🦭
Well, now that I’ve reviewed up the definition of detritus, not a whole lot.
😂 I would say that detritus is coarser and implies the sense being recognizeable as having been part of a larger whole.
I meant it in the sense of organic debris: leaf litter and such. I think of dirt as being finer and relatively uniform. Water + dirt = mud. Water + detritus = clean detritus.
What I meant was that worms sustain themselves on organic material, and, after they break it down, it is more incorporated in to the soil.
Theres is a whole other discussion to be had whether dirt ≈ soil…
I’ll take a shot. “Detritus” is the easier part: it’s decaying plant and animal matter. So the worms are eating leaves and stuff after it’s started breaking down.
“Dirt” is a little more difficult because it doesn’t have as crisp of a definition. Usually when people say “dirt” in this context, they mean “soil,” but that’s only a little better. The relevant definition for soil is, “the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed and in which plants grow.”
That detritus gets broken down by bacteria and becomes soil even without worms, but worms do basically the same thing faster. Plus their moving around helps loosen the soil, which also is helpful for growing plants.