#argilotrof

• Argillotrophic — Developing in or specific to aquatic environments (especially lakes or ponds) rich in fine clay suspensions and colloidal clay, which block light penetration and limit subaquatic flora growth. In a structural ecological sense, it describes water basins with low primary biological productivity due to persistent mineral turbidity, but adapted for certain benthic micro-organisms.
• Argilotrophy — A type of nutrition or mineral ecological regime of higher plants or soil microorganisms that structurally relies on the absorption of nutrients and water stored directly within clay-humus complexes. In a pedological and physiological sense, the term describes the capacity of certain plant species to efficiently extract exchangeable cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium) bound to the crystalline lattice surfaces of silico-aluminous minerals in heavy clay soils.