Decomposers
They break down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, water and nutrients and the process is called decomposition.
Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of animals, including faecal matter, constitute detritus, which is the raw material for decomposition.
- The important steps in the process of decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification and mineralisation.
- Fragmentation is a process in which detritivores (e.g., earthworm) break down detritus into smaller particles.
- Leaching is a process in which-water inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get precipitated as unavailable salts.
- Catabolism is a process in which bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into simpler inorganic substances. It is important to note that all the above steps in decomposition operate simultaneously on the detritus (Figure).
- Humification leads to accumulation of a dark-coloured amorphous substance called humus that is highly resistant to microbial action and undergoes decomposition at an extremely slow rate. Being colloidal in nature it serves as a reservoir of nutrients.
- Mineralisation is a process in which humus is further degraded by some microbes and release of inorganic nutrients occur.
- Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process. The rate of decomposition is controlled by chemical composition of detritus and climatic factors.
- In a particular climatic condition, decomposition rate is slower if detritus is rich in lignin and chitin, and quicker, if detritus is rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars.
- Temperature and soil moisture are the most important climatic factors that regulate decomposition through their effects on the activities of soil microbes. Warm and moist environment favour decomposition whereas low temperature and anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition resulting in build-up of organic materials.
Detritus food chain (DFC)
- It is made up of decomposers which are heterotrophic organisms, mainly fungi and bacteria.
- They meet their energy and nutrient requirements by degrading dead organic matter or detritus. These are also known as saprotrophs (sapro: to decompose).
- Decomposers secrete digestive enzymes that breakdown dead and waste materials into simple, inorganic materials, which are subsequently absorbed by them.
- In an aquatic ecosystem, Grazing Food Chain (GFC) is the major conduit for energy flow. As against this, in a terrestrial ecosystem, a much larger fraction of energy flows through the detritus food chain than through the GFC.
- Based on the source of their nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific place in the food chain that is known as their trophic level.
- Producers belong to the first trophic level, herbivores (primary consumer) to the second and carnivores (secondary consumer) to the third.
