Decomposers are super important for our environment! They help recycle energy and nutrients from dead plants and animals. The main decomposers we see are fungi, bacteria, and small creatures called invertebrates. These living things break down anything that is no longer alive.
Recycling Nutrients: Decomposers take complex materials and turn them into simpler forms. This releases important nutrients back into the soil. Did you know that about 90% of the energy they use is let go as heat? Only about 10% goes towards their growth and making more of themselves.
Energy Transfer: Decomposers play a key role in the food chain, working at a level called the detritivore level. They help move energy from primary producers (like plants that use sunlight) back into the ecosystem. Only about 1% of the sun’s energy gets captured by these primary producers, but decomposers make sure it can keep flowing through the system.
Boosting Plant Growth: Decomposers make the soil richer, which can help plants grow by about 50% in areas with lots of nutrients. This means more plants grow, which helps support animals higher up in the food chain.
In short, without decomposers, our ecosystems would get cluttered with dead things. This would slow down the flow of energy and nutrients, and could even cause ecosystems to break down.
Decomposers are super important for our environment! They help recycle energy and nutrients from dead plants and animals. The main decomposers we see are fungi, bacteria, and small creatures called invertebrates. These living things break down anything that is no longer alive.
Recycling Nutrients: Decomposers take complex materials and turn them into simpler forms. This releases important nutrients back into the soil. Did you know that about 90% of the energy they use is let go as heat? Only about 10% goes towards their growth and making more of themselves.
Energy Transfer: Decomposers play a key role in the food chain, working at a level called the detritivore level. They help move energy from primary producers (like plants that use sunlight) back into the ecosystem. Only about 1% of the sun’s energy gets captured by these primary producers, but decomposers make sure it can keep flowing through the system.
Boosting Plant Growth: Decomposers make the soil richer, which can help plants grow by about 50% in areas with lots of nutrients. This means more plants grow, which helps support animals higher up in the food chain.
In short, without decomposers, our ecosystems would get cluttered with dead things. This would slow down the flow of energy and nutrients, and could even cause ecosystems to break down.