I was walking around my backyard and step on what I thought was a pile of dirt. Almost immediately after stepping on it, a puff of brown dusted emanated from this and I was taken back. Upon further inspection, I thought maybe it was dried up moss because it seemed to be attached and was one big patch of this brown stuff. After some research I started to wonder if it is some sort of fungi or mold.
The reason I ask is that I have never experience such a thing that produced dust upon being disturbed. So I want to know if this is dead and dried up or if this "powdery property" is something that allows it to spread more easily. Hopefully being able to identify what this is will aid in my search. If it helps in identification, I live in New Jersey, United States.