Why we should conserve 'limiting factors', at least sometimes!

摘要

Korner's recent paper provided an excellent initial discussion of the term 'limitation' in ecology. I accept most of his arguments but would argue that there are some circumstances in applied ecology where the concept of limitation can be useful: these are (1) where there is a deficiency of a factor that prevents growth, and (2) where there is a need to manage an ecosystem so that a limitation is enforced.