Environmental factor

An environmental factor in the sense of an ecological factor or ecofactor is a variable which has an impact on the viability of an organism. It can act either promoting or damaging.

We distinguish:

• Biotic factors (eg competitors, predators ) and
• Abiotic factors (eg temperature, humidity).

One species possesses in relation to the variability of an environmental factor, a certain tolerance range, this features their ecological potency. If possible, an individual of the species is always trying to get the so-called preference area, that is as close to the respective optimum to stop, but this is often prevented by interspecific competitors.

As a limiting factor of the environmental factor is referred to, which is furthest away from its optimum.