Question

What happens if decomposers are removed from the food web?

Answer 1

Hint: A food web is made up of many interlinked food chains. It involves many organisms connected to each other at different trophic levels. It is one of the major processes of energy flow in nature.

Complete answer: Decomposers are saprophytes, also known as detritivores, who feed on the dead and decaying organic matter, or in simple terms, the dead and decaying debris of plants and animals. They can be bacteria, fungi or earthworms. In the presence of decomposers, organic matter from these dead organisms gets passed on to the soil from where it can be later taken upon by plants to produce food or directly to consumers who eat decomposers. If the decomposers are removed from the food web, there would not be any means by which the organic matter present in various trophic levels are taken back to the soil, whereby new plants and animals can take it. In other words, there would not be any energy cycling eventually destroying the habitat and the ecosystem. The ecosystem would also be filled with the debris of plants and animals. Thus, decomposers are an important part of any food web, and its removal can have many deleterious effects in the habitat or the ecosystem.

Note: An ecosystem is a community where animals, plants and various abiotic elements such as water, soil and sun coexist with constant energy flow. There are many factors that affect the functioning of the ecosystem such as climate and topography.