In an old post I waxed lyrical, in a geeky sort of way, about soil life.

When I walk my fields I entertain fantasy visions of walking on a spongy mass of wriggling, ravenous microbes. It helps that my fields - or at least those I've had the management of for a couple of years - are in fact soft and yielding since they are rich in organic matter and living material so that even when bone dry they remind some of walking on a firm mattress.

The infection doesn't stop at the soil surface, that's just the bottom layer.

"... different organisms populate different sizes of dust particles, and different sizes vertically segregate in the airstream. "If you were going to be a pathogen in a snake you wouldn't want to be high in the air, but for camels you want to be on a smaller particle. Heaven knows the dynamics of how they do that!"

I knew this in an abstract sort of way, but I suspect that my fantasy visions will in future include more awareness that I'm not just walking on soil life, I'm also walking through it. Perhaps I'll lean into it a bit, like a diver walking on a sea bed leans to maintain balance against the water's resistance.

P.S. The referenced post is by Philip Small, found in the past at Transect Points, but now contributing to the content at the National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists site. It's still early days there as Philip marries display interfaces to data engines, but you can get a Philip fix to tide you over until the new system is fully operational.

P.P.S. There seems to be a glitch in the link to the source study. We must be patient.

Update: Link to source study fixed.