Question

Why are decomposers important to energy transfer within an ecosystem?

Answer 1

@apoorvk

Answer 2

last question

Answer 3

I got this so far. Decomposers are important because they are breaking down material that has already been consumed and recycling it back into the ecosystem.

Answer 4

got more:
Decomposers are important because they are breaking down material that has already been consumed and recycling it back into the ecosystem. Without them primary consumers would die along with secondary because they would have no meat to eat and so would tertiary consumers.

Answer 5

Well, suppose the food chain going on, and on, and on... At the end there shall be some tertiary consumers, who die after enjoying their lifetime -.-
Now now.. there cannot be a dead end to this cycle - we need someone to 'recycle' energy back to the source, or the producers. The decomposers precisely play this part.

Looks like you nailed it yourself ;)

Answer 6

... That's basically it. Let me try to give you a concrete example. Think of a forest with rich soil and plenty of trees. The trees in that forest live off the water, the sunlight and the minerals of the soil. As they absorb those minerals, they extract them from the soil and incorporate into their own bodies, depriving the soil slightly of their ... say, nutritional value. Occasionally a tree will die. Now, if decomposers didn't exist, all the energy that the tree had accumulated during its lifetime - from the water, sunlight, minerals - would be locked up inside the trunk and essentially never escape. What decomposers do is break down the tree and allow for that energy to transfer to other organisms.