Producers refer to green plants, including unicellular algae and some bacteria that can convert inorganic substances into organic substances. The leaves of green plants contain chlorophyll, which can carry out photosynthesis, convert solar energy into chemical energy and inorganic matter into organic matter to meet the needs of their own growth and development, and become the food and energy source for all living things and human beings on earth. Therefore, green plants are producers of ecosystems.
Consumers mainly refer to animals. They can't directly use external energy and inorganic substances to make organic matter, but consume producers for a living. Herbivores eat plants directly and are called first-class consumers, such as locusts and grasshoppers. Carnivores that feed on herbivores are called secondary consumers, such as green babies and toads. Animals that feed on carnivores are called tertiary consumers, such as snakes and owls. These consumers are all important links in the ecosystem, and they control the automatic adjustment ability of the whole ecosystem, especially the excessive growth and reproduction of producers.
Decomposition refers to various microorganisms with decomposition ability, including some lower protozoa, such as soil nematodes and flagellates. The decomposer is the "cleaner" of the ecosystem. They break down the bodies of animals and plants into simple inorganic substances and put them back into the abiotic environment. If there is no decomposer, dead organisms will pile up, so that nutrients can't circulate between living and non-living, and eventually the ecosystem will become a source without water. The number of decomposers in the ecosystem is amazing. It is estimated that in 654.38 million square meters of farmland soil, the weight of bacteria can reach 8 kg.
Abiotic substances, that is, the inorganic world, refer to all kinds of inanimate inorganic substances and natural factors in the ecosystem.
The components of the ecosystem have division of labor and cooperation. Producers directly or indirectly provide food for consumers and decomposers; Consumers control the number of producers within the range that abiotic environment can bear; The residue and excrement of producers and consumers are finally decomposed into inorganic substances by decomposers for reuse by plants. It is the coordination and unity among producers, consumers, decomposers and abiotic environment that enables the ecosystem to continue to play its role.