In ecology, decomposers are heterotrophic organisms—primarily bacteria and fungi—that chemically break down dead organic matter, waste products, and detritus into simpler inorganic compounds. They secrete extracellular enzymes that hydrolyze complex polymers such as cellulose, lignin, chitin, proteins, and lipids into soluble molecules that can be assimilated and further mineralized to CO₂, NH₄⁺, PO₄³⁻, and other nutrients. Decomposers thus mediate key biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur), regulate soil organic matter dynamics, influence ecosystem respiration, and determine nutrient availability for primary producers, strongly affecting ecosystem productivity, stability, and succession patterns.
A new review involving researchers at Umeå University has revealed the critical role that plant roots play in shaping how Arctic tundra ecosystems respond to climate change. The paper, recently published in Nature Reviews ...
Earth Sciences
4 hours ago
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What should happen to your body after you die? It's hardly a topic you'd bring up over dinner, but it's a decision that will eventually need to be made, either by you or by those you leave behind.
Other
Oct 26, 2026
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There are an estimated 10 quintillion insects alive on Earth at any given time. That's 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 individual insects. But how many species are there, why do we need them, and what would happen if their numbers ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2026
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A plant's roots do much of their work out of sight, pulling in water and nutrients and holding the plant in place. That makes it hard to see how plants respond when conditions underground change, and how a warming climate ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 16, 2026
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In the deep sea, it never stops snowing. The type of snow that falls in the ocean, known as marine snow, is very different from the flaky geometric wonders that fall on land. Marine snow describes tiny clumps of organic and ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 12, 2026
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This summer, you may have wondered why you are seeing so few insects squished on your car's windshield compared with a road trip several years ago.
Ecology
Sep 8, 2026
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Soil is the foundation of our food supply. It stores water, carbon and nutrients and is home to a large share of the world's biodiversity. More than half of global biodiversity is estimated to live below ground. Yet biodiversity, ...
Agriculture
Aug 26, 2026
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270
What happens after death? An international study led by the University of Granada (UGR), involving Ana Mateos and Jesús Rodríguez, researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), argues ...
Evolution
Jul 29, 2026
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Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified ...
Ecology
Jul 9, 2026
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Many fungi lead triple lives—acting as deadly insect pathogens, decomposers in the soil, and helpful partners living inside and transferring insect-derived nitrogen to plant roots. Scientists have long wondered what allows ...
Ecology
Jul 2, 2026
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