What are limiting nutrients?
It any nutrient that “limits” what can be produced. Think of these as parts of a bicycle – you can have six wheels, three seats, seven pedals, and four handlebars – but using these part, you can only complete three bikes (two wheels and two pedals are needed to make each bike, you’ll have one pedal and one handlebar left over). In the case of plants, phosphate is usually a limiting nutrient, especially in aquatic systems. For Some other limiting nutrients can be phosphate, nitrate, iron, and sulfur. Sometimes the nutrient that’s limiting will change between locations due to the differences in the geology/soils and their chemical composition. Different species can also need higher or lower amounts of specific nutrients. Another way of looking at limiting nutrients is which ONE nutrient, when added to an ecosystem/plant, will produce the greatest increase in biomass (new growth).
