A food chain shows the transfer of nutrients and energy (in the form of food) from one organism to another.

• The sun gives energy to producers (plants).
• Consumers (animals) eat the plants.
• The energy is passed from the producers to the consumers.
• Each organism in the chain is linked together based on what it eats.

• When consumers die or produce waste, decomposers take some of that energy and return it back to the soil for plants to use once again.

Decomposers play an important role in the Nitrogen Cycle and the Carbon Cycle.

• In these cycles, pure carbon and nitrogen are taken from the atmosphere and soil and combined into other molecules that plants and animals pass along through the food chain.
• At the end of the food chain, decomposers break down these molecules and return carbon and nitrogen to the soil and air.
• Without decomposers, these cycles would end, and our air and soil would become unusable.

• A log decomposition station represents what happens on a larger scale in real forests.
• When a tree falls, it remains there as decomposers slowly break it down as they consume it.
• This returns nutrients to the soil
• Complex molecules are broken down into simple carbon, nitrogen, and other minerals that living plants can use.

• A forest is considered a major habitat
• The fallen log is considered a microhabitat (a smaller habitat within a major habitat).
• The log provides food, water, shelter, and places to raise young for animals living around it.
• Producers, consumers, and decomposers can live in a fallen log.

In a compost bin or pile, bacteria (decomposers) use oxygen and heat to break down materials such as leaves, sticks, grass clippings, and dead flowers.

• Finished compost is dark, spongy, and full of nutrients.
• It can be spread into gardens to fertilize plants, help break up the soil so that it can hold water, and helps plants grow faster and bigger!

Vermicomposting is the method of using earthworms to speed up the process of composting in a compost bin or pile.

• The worms consume the compost materials and turn them into worm castings (poop).
• These castings can be spread in gardens to fertilize (feed) plants and help the plants grow bigger.
• The worms also help break up the soil with their tunnels so that the soil can hold more water.
• Vermicomposting shows how important worms are to the health of our ecosystem because they help break down materials into things that plants can use.