Components of Ecosystem

We note that an ecosystem has both living and non-living things.

So, components of an Ecosystem are

• Abiotic - Non-living constituents like Air, Water, Wind, Soil, Temperature, Rainfall
• Biotic - Living organisms like plants and trees. This Biotic component of ecosystem includes three types of organisms - Producers, Consumers and Decomposers.

All these Biotic and Abiotic constituents together comprise of an ecosystem.

Now, let’s look at Producers, Consumers and Decomposers

Producers, Consumers, Decomposers

The biotic components of an ecosystem can be grouped as

• Producers
• Consumers
• Decomposers

Let’s look at what they are, 

Producers

All the green plants and bacteria which uses Sun’s Energy to make food are called producers

Consumers

Those organisms which consume the food produced by the producers are called Consumers

They are of 3 types

• Herbivores - Those organisms who only eat green plants are called herbivores.
  Example - Rabbit, Cow, Elephant

• Carnivores - Those organisms which eat only other animals are called carnivores.
  Example - Lion, Snake

• Omnivores - Those organisms which eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.
  Example - Human beings, Crow, Bear

Decomposers

After the producers and consumers die, 

the bacteria and fungi break down 

the complex organic substances into simple organic substances,

which go into the soil and are used up again by plants.

These microorganisms are called decomposers

So, we can define Decomposers are

Those micro-organisms which break down complex organic compounds present in dead animals and plants into simpler substances are called decomposers.

Example - Certain types of Bacteria and Fungi