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40d:Soil
Soil is the name for the various kinds of ground that can be planted on without irrigation using water. In DF, the category of "Soil" includes all types of sand, clay, ooze and any "non-stone" layer equally, even if you or I generally don't associate that substance with "growing plants".
| Topsoil | Tile |
|---|---|
| Clay | ▓ |
| Clay Loam | ▒ |
| Loam | ░ |
| Loamy Sand1 | ▒ |
| Peat | ≈ |
| Sandy Clay1 | ▒ |
| Sandy Clay Loam1 | ░ |
| Sandy Loam1 | ░ |
| Silt | ▓ |
| Silty Clay | ▓ |
| Silty Clay Loam | ░ |
| Silt Loam | ▒ |
| Ocean Floor2 | Tile |
| Pelagic Clay | ░ |
| Siliceous Ooze | ▒ |
| Calcareous Ooze | ▒ |
| Sand | Tile |
| Sand (no color) | ░ |
| Black Sand | ▓ |
| Red Sand | ░ |
| White Sand | ▓ |
| Yellow Sand | ▓ |
- 1 Any soil listed in the upper part of the table does not count as sand for glassmaking, even if its name includes the word "sand."
- 2 These layers are only found under deep ocean tiles, usually far out from any embarkable site. Thus, they can rarely, if ever, be encountered in either fortress mode or adventure mode.
When starting a new fortress, types and quantities of available soils are listed at the bottom right of the fortress location selection screen. In contrast to rock types, soil type names appear in brown, and are usually closest to the top of the list, and thus, closest to the surface of the ground.
Note, however, that you may only plant cave flora if the tile is marked "Subterranean." To check this, go to the tile in k mode.
Digging into soil does not generate any byproduct materials, unlike digging in rock, and also is a much faster process which makes it much easier to create storerooms and other large areas of empty space, and to train miners.
Soil cannot be smoothed, so it can be difficult to make high value rooms, or pierce aquifers. Also, since soil cannot be smoothed, soil cannot be used to make fortifications.
Building a farm plot or road or removing a construction on top of soil will cause it to become "furrowed", making it appear with the ≈ and ~ tiles. Above-ground furrowed soil will gradually smooth itself out, at which point grass and other vegetation will begin to grow, while subterranean soil will remain furrowed indefinitely. Sand always appears as ≈ and ~ and cannot become furrowed - as such, sand roads do not last as long as those made on ordinary soil.