<P> Cells can achieve a high surface area to volume ratio with an elaborately convoluted surface, like the microvilli lining the small intestine . </P> <P> Increased surface area can also lead to biological problems . More contact with the environment through the surface of a cell or an organ (relative to its volume) increases loss of water and dissolved substances . High surface area to volume ratios also present problems of temperature control in unfavorable environments . </P> <P> The surface to volume ratios of organisms of different sizes also leads to some biological rules such as Bergmann's rule and gigantothermy . </P> <P> In the context of wildfires, the ratio of the surface area of a solid fuel to its volume is an important measurement . Fire spread behavior is frequently correlated to the surface - area - to - volume ratio of the fuel (e.g. leaves and branches). The higher its value, the faster a particle responds to changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature or moisture . Higher values are also correlated to shorter fuel ignition times, and hence faster fire spread rates . </P>

The surface area-to-volume ratio in spherical cells decreases as the radius