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Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms, and in doing so carry out the natural process of decomposition.

Decomposers break down (or consume) leaf litter, dead organisms and other detritus. In doing this they release nutrients trapped in the dead material back into the soil, making it available to plants and other primary producers, continuing the nutrient cycle of an ecosystem.

General catagories of decomposers are:

  • worms
  • molds
  • fungi (the primary and common decomposers of litter in many ecosystems)
  • bacteria

Specific fungi decomposers are:

  • mushrooms
  • mold
  • mildew
  • yeast
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10y ago

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