Edaphon

/ˈɛdəfɒn/ noun

Definition

The community of organisms living in and on soil, including bacteria, fungi, arthropods, and earthworms.

Etymology

From Greek edaphos (soil) + -on (entity/being). This scientific term groups all the life forms that make soil an ecosystem rather than just inert matter.

Kelly Says

A single handful of healthy soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth—the edaphon is essentially an invisible world of billions of creatures that make all terrestrial life possible!

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