TheImportanceofEarthwormsandFungi Earthworms and fungiareveryimportanttoourecosystem.They areable todecompose things which most other animals arent able to do.

Without them there wouldnt be as many plants and the worldwouldbeamess.Fungiand earthwormsareveryimportantandallowusto liveinacleanworldwiththewaytheydecomposealldeadorganisms. When the leaves begin to turn brown and get holes is an example of plants being decomposedanditsveryimportantthattheyaredecomposedbyfungiandearthworms(Fogel). Now, ever wonderwhat the world would belikeiftherewere noearthwormsorfungi.Itwouldbe a mess. There would be dead leaves and plants all over the place and there would be some dead animals that werent eaten by scavengers when they died. The animals and plants would remain completely intact. When the leaves begin to turn brown and get holesin them they are being decomposed by worms and fungi (Fogel, 2001). These dead organisms need to be decomposed so there is room for other plants to grow. They cant grow if the ground is full of dead plants and animals (Penn. State, 2002). When the leaves begin to turn brown and get holes is an example of plants being decomposed and its very important that they are decomposed by fungi and earthworms (Fogel, 2001). This is why earthworms and fungiare so important.

Thisimageshowsthedifferentstepsofdecompositionandalsosayshowitisbeneficial. To make room for these other plants, fungi and earthworms have to go through the process of decomposition. This iswhytheyaresoimportant.Theydecomposedeadorganisms and thisdecompositiontheydoisdoneinmultiplesteps.Thefirststepiscalledfragmentation.In thispartoftheprocessearthwormsbegintobreakthedeadplantdown.Whenearthwormshave broken it down enough fungi are able to break down theplant even more. Next rainwater goes through the plants to release chemicals, this is called leaching. Then earthworms and fungistir up the little that is left ofthe plant, in thefinalstep oftheprocess,tobreakitdownintofineblack particles of organicsoil and all the nutrients are released intothesoilwhichareallverygoodfor

plants (Fogel, 2001). Something earthworms do that also benefits plantand doesnt have to do with decomposition in burrow through the soil. When earthworms do this they drain surface water and put air into the soil for plants (Earthworm Society, 2013). So decomposition isnt the onlybeneficialthingswormsdo.So,withfungi,earthwormsareabletodecomposethings. Without decompositionnot as many plants would grow and that would set offthe whole food web. There would be many animals that would not get all the plants that are necessary to their survival (Penn. State, 2002). Without these animals getting the plantsthattheyneedtolive they will die. It goes on and on after that up the food web because the animals that need to eat the animals that died because they couldnt get their food would die too without their source of food. As learned from the example of wolves being removed from Yellowstone, the whole ecosystem would change and itwouldntbeagoodchange.Thisreallyshowstheimportanceof earthwormsandfungibecausewithoutthemanentireecosystemwouldbedamaged. Earthworms and fungi are very important because they decompose dead plants and animals that would otherwise litter the earth and not allow more room for new plants. They can also benefit how well a plant can grow. To do all this they have to go through the process of decomposition, which is a big part of the food web. Without earthworms and fungi things on earthwouldbeverydifferentsotheyarenecessaryassetstolife.

 "Earthworm Information." Earthworm Information. Pennsylvania State University, 2002. Web. 04 Dec.2013.

Fogel, Robert I. "Fungal Decomposition." Fungal Decomposition. N.p., 19 Dec. 2001. Web. 02 Dec.2013.

"Why Are Earthworms Important?" Why Are Earthworms Important? Earthworm Society, 2013. Web.03Dec.2013.