An environmental factor that restricts the growth, abundance, or distribution of a population or species in an ecosystem. It is the resource or condition that is most scarce relative to demand.
From 'limit' from Latin 'limes' (boundary) and 'factor' from Latin 'facere' (to make or do). The concept was formalized in ecology through Liebig's Law of the Minimum in the 19th century.
The limiting factor principle reveals that ecosystems work like a chain - they're only as strong as their weakest link! Even if an organism has abundant food, water, and space, a shortage of just one essential nutrient can halt population growth entirely.
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