Limiting factors and their impact on living organisms

Limiting factors are such agents, the quantitative values of which go beyond the adaptive capacity of living organisms, which leads to a restriction of their distribution in the corresponding territory.

Thus, limiting environmental factors affect the geographical distribution area of various species, are capable of provoking a restriction of their growth or even death in the case of a shortage of individual substances, and also with their excessive quantity. It should be noted that the influence of environmental factors under certain conditions can change, be limited or not radically affect living organisms.

Agrochemist Yu Libich established the law of a minimum. He argued that the yield level depends on the factor with the minimum quantitative characteristics. It should be noted that this law is valid at the level of chemical compounds, but it is of limited nature, since the yield depends on a whole range of factors: concentration of the relevant substances, light, temperature, humidity, etc. In this case, the limiting factors negatively affect either independently or in a certain combination.

Despite the close relationship of environmental agents, they are unable to replace each other, as indicated in the law of independence of factors, which was derived by VR Williams. So, for example, humidity can not be replaced by the action of light or carbon dioxide.

The influence of ecology is most clearly described by the law of the limiting factor: even one environmental agent that is outside its optimum is capable of causing the stressful state of the organism or even its death.

The level that corresponds to the limits of endurance of a certain factor is called the degree of tolerance. It is worth noting that this value is not constant. For different organisms it is different. This range can be significantly narrowed in cases when the factor whose action is close to the limit of endurance of the organism affects.

It must be said that the limiting factors for one species are the usual conditions of existence for others. The limit of tolerance for all organisms is the maximum or minimum lethal temperature beyond which they die. This is due to the fact that the temperature factor is able to influence metabolism and photosynthesis.

Important agents that can have a limiting effect are water, as well as solar radiation. Their lack leads to the cessation of the reactions of metabolism and energy, which leads to the death of organisms.

Limiting factors are the cause of a number of specific adaptive reactions, which are called adaptive. They develop under the influence of three important processes: the variability of living organisms, heredity and natural selection. The main source of adaptation changes are mutations in the genome. They can occur when exposed to both natural and artificial factors, which in some cases are capable of changing the range of species distribution.

It should be noted that the accumulation of mutations leads to disintegration phenomena. In the process of evolution, a whole complex of abiotic and biotic factors operates on all organisms . At the same time, there are both successful adaptations that help to adapt to negative environmental factors, as well as unsuccessful ones, which lead to extinction of the species.