You just put together a particular kind of causal loop called a reinforcing feedback loop.

There are two types of feedback loops: As you saw in the soil health example, reinforcing feedback amplifies change. The change can happen in a positive or a negative direction. In the case of soil health, if decaying plants are not returned to the soil, the feedback causes the soil to become increasingly depleted over time. If decaying plants do return to the soil, the feedback causes the soil to become healthier over time.

The other type of causal loop is balancing feedback, which controls or regulates change. Unlike reinforcing feedback, balancing loops work to keeps any system in a state of dynamic balance through an endless series of self-correcting changes.

So the two kinds of feedback loops can help us to understand why things change and why they stay the same.

For another example, and step-by-step instructions for creating a causal loop diagram, read this document.