Decomposers & Carbon Compounds
- When inorganic nutrients enter the food chain, they are converted into carbon compounds, e.g. carbohydrates and proteins, and are locked up inside the tissues of living plants and animals
- Because the supply of inorganic nutrients is finite, it is essential that when these organisms die the nutrients locked up in their tissues are released
- The carbon compounds need to be converted back into inorganic nutrients that can be used by producers
- The process of breaking down the bodies of dead organisms and the waste products of living organisms is known as decomposition, and it enables the cycling of nutrients
- Decomposition allows the breakdown of molecules in the bodies of dead organisms, dead parts of organisms, e.g. a fallen tree branch, and animal faeces
- The cycling of nutrients is carried out by decomposers, e.g.
- Detritivores often begin the process of decomposition by breaking apart tissues
- Saprotrophs release enzymes that break down the organic molecules in the tissues, releasing inorganic nutrients
- Saprotrophs absorb some of the nutrients themselves, and what is left in the soil becomes available for other organisms, e.g. producers
Nutrient cycling diagram
Decomposers release carbon compounds from dead tissues and waste, making them available for themselves and for other organisms