![]() ![]() They include fungi along with invertebrate organisms sometimes called detritivores, which include earthworms, termites, and millipedes. Other decomposers are big enough to see without a microscope. Most decomposers are microscopic organisms, including protozoa and bacteria. Thanks to decomposers, nutrients get added back to the soil or water, so the producers can use them to grow and reproduce. Others are generalists that feed on lots of different materials. Some decomposers are specialized and break down only a certain kind of dead organism. All of these components are substances that plants need to grow. ![]() Decomposers break apart complex organic materials into more elementary substances: water and carbon dioxide, plus simple compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium. Imagine what the world would look like! More importantly, decomposers make vital nutrients available to an ecosystem’s primary producers-usually plants and algae. Without decomposers, dead leaves, dead insects, and dead animals would pile up everywhere. They perform a valuable service as Earth’s cleanup crew. Decomposers feed on dead things: dead plant materials such as leaf litter and wood, animal carcasses, and feces. When you have an empty bottle, do you recycle it so the plastic or glass can be used again? Nature has its own recycling system: a group of organisms called decomposers. ![]()
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