What is "edaphic"

a. 1 soil 2 relating to, or determined by, conditions of the soil, especially as it relates to biological systems 3 soil characteristics, such as water content, pH, texture, and nutrient availability, that influence the type and quantity of vegetation in an area

Edaphic is a nature related to soil. Edaphic qualities may characterize the soil itself, including drainage, texture, or chemical properties such as soil pH. Edaphic may also characterize organisms, such as plant communities, where it specifies their relationships with soil. Edaphic endemics are plants or animals endemic to areas of a specific soil type.

Edaphic plant communities include:

• Sandy soils: plant communities distinct to sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soils include the tropical heath forests and restingas and temperate pine barrens.
• Ultramafic soils: plant communities distinct to soils derived from manganese and iron-rich ultramafic rocks include ultramafic woodlands and ultramafic barrens of the Appalachian mountains and piedmont, the "wet maquis" of the New Caledonia rain forests, the ultramafic forests of Mount Kinabalu and other peaks in Sabah, Malaysia, and the serpentine soil plant communities of California.