Question

What is an example of a decomposer? What would happen if decomposers were absent from a forest ecosystem?

Answer 1

Hint: In order to answer this question let us first know about the ecosystem. An ecosystem is a group of living organisms that communicate as a system with the nonliving elements of their environment. Nutrient cycles and energy flows bind these biotic and abiotic components together.

Complete answer:
Decomposers are species that break down dead or rotting organisms; they perform decomposition, a mechanism that only a few kingdoms, such as fungi, are capable of. Decomposers, like herbivores and predators, are heterotrophic, meaning they get their energy, carbon, and nutrients from organic substrates for growth and development. Although the terms decomposer and detritivore are often used interchangeably, detritivores consume and digest dead matter internally, while decomposers absorb nutrients directly by chemical and biological processes external to them. Earthworms, woodlice, and sea cucumbers, for example, are technically detritivores, not decomposers.
Wastes and the remains of dead animals would pile up if decomposers were absent from a forest environment, and producers (plants) would be deprived of nutrients.

Note:
Decomposers eat dead plant materials like leaf litter and wood, as well as animal carcasses and faeces. As Earth's cleaning team, they have a vital service. Dead leaves, insects, and animals would pile up everywhere if decomposers didn't exist. Imagine how different the world will be.