The Roles in an Ecosystem

Plants are literally cooking their own food using just sunlight and air. This process,

photosynthesis, creates the oxygen you're breathing and the food that starts every food

chain. This makes plants the Producers. Then you have the Consumers,

like animals and us, who have to eat to get energy. And don't forget

the Decomposers—nature's recycling crew, like fungi and worms, that break down dead stuff and return

nutrients to the soil. Producers, consumers, and decomposers

all work together in a giant team called an ecosystem. Everything is connected in one massive,

living web.