What is the Role of Decomposers?

What comes to your head when you hear the word decomposer? Something which has become rotten or has decayed, right? Well, decomposers feed on the dead and decayed remains of other animals. Then it is well established that decomposers must play an important role in the smooth functioning of the ecosystem. So, what is the role of decomposers? What happens if decomposers are not there on Earth? What would happen without decomposition? Keep on reading the article to know more.

1. What is a Decomposer in a Food Chain?

Decomposers form the final link of the food chain. Decomposers are a group of organisms that break apart dead organisms, digest the dead matter, and put nutrients back into the soil, making them available for the primary producers. (See Is a Mushroom a producer?)

2. What is the Role of Decomposers?

The existence and the role of decomposers is rather valuable thing to understand. Decomposers play a very crucial role in the flow of energy through an ecosystem. In the environment, they act as a cleaning agent by decomposing dead plants and animals. They help in recycling nutrients, and provide space for new beings in the biosphere by decomposing the dead, the role of decomposers includes the reintroduction of different elements into moisture, soil, and air for reuse by producers such as crops and plants. This majorly is the role of the decomposers. (See Why are food chains relatively short?)

3. What are Decomposers known as?

Is decomposer the only name for the organisms that feed on the dead remains of plants and animals? If yes, what are decomposers known as? There are several names with which decomposers are associated to. They are called bacterium, fungi, and insects and sometimes they are also referred to as detritivores. (Also read How Long does it take for a Body to Decompose Underground?)

4. Why is Decomposition Important to the Environment?

The entire process of decomposition is a boon for the environment. Decomposers recycle dead plants and animals by breaking apart complex organic materials into elementary substances- water and carbon dioxide, plus simple compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium. The role of decomposers helps keep the flow of nutrients available in the environment that plants need to grow. (See Why is Biosphere Important for Living Organisms?)

5. What will happen if Decomposers are not there on Earth?

After reading so much about decomposers, we can safely say that decomposers are a very important part of the ecosystem. So, what will happen if decomposers are not there on Earth? If decomposers do not exist on Earth, the breakdown of complex organic substances into simple substances will not take place and the dead remains and waste would pile up and natural replenishment of soil will not take place. (See What would happen in an Ecosystem without Herbivores? )

6. How do Decomposers help Plants?

Decomposers are better known as environment cleaners but how do they help plants? Decomposers help plants by breaking down organic matter or the matter that was once alive and releasing its nutrients back into the soil. These nutrients that decomposers release make the soil fertile and good for plant growth. These nutrients then become a part of the new plants that grow from the fertile soil. This is how decomposers help plants. (See What is the Difference between Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Nutrition?)

7. How do Decomposers help Consumers?

Decomposers do help plants but how do decomposers help consumers? The category of consumers includes both herbivores (caterpillars) and carnivores (hawks etc). Decomposers as we know by now, feed on dead things, dead plant materials such as littered leaves and wood, dead animals or animal carcasses, and feces. They get nutrients and energy by breaking down these complex organisms into the soil and new nutritious plants are grown. Since consumers are not capable of producing their own food, they would feed on these plants and the nutrition in the soil would go inside the consumer’s body. This is how the role of decomposers helps consumers. (See What are a few examples of Producers, Consumers and Decomposer?)

8. How do Decomposers store Energy?

When we say decomposers, fungi and bacteria are the two words that come to our head. And mostly these are the two key decomposers in many ecosystems. They use chemical energy in dead matter and wastes to fuel their metabolic processes. Check out Where the Earth Receives Energy from?

9. What would happen if all Decomposers died?

Well, imagine you run out of your detergent. What happens then, all your clothes pile up until you get a new one right? Now you can imagine what would happen if all decomposers died. All the dead leaves, dead insects, dead animals, and excretions would not decompose and pile up everywhere. This would lead to a shortage of free space on Earth which would further adversely affect the new generation of plants and animals. more than that, decomposers make vital nutrients available to the ecosystem’s primary producers- usually plants and algae.

 If all the decomposers are eliminated then it will result in all available biogenetic nutrients being tied up in the organic matter. This will further lead to the synthesis of organic matter that will stop which will result in the destruction of life on Earth. Therefore, decomposers are very important for sustaining life on the planet. (Also read What is the Function of the Ring or Annulus in Mushroom?)

10. What would happen without Decomposition?

If decomposition could not occur, the nitrogen in the dead organic matter would remain locked up. Plant growth would decrease over time as the nitrogen the plants took from the soil was not replaced. This would be a disaster because plant growth supplies all of our food. 

If anything, we established from this article that decomposers are not only an important source of sustenance for producers or consumers but also for the human population. Their mere existence is the reason the human population is existing on the planet. In this article, we covered the role of decomposers, what are they known as, and what happens if decomposers blink out of existence. Hope this article could be a good addition to your knowledge. (Also read What is a Paramecium Feeding Process?)