The energy pyramid
Trophic level
Each level in the food chain is called a trophic level. A trophic level is the step at which the organism obtains its food in the chain. The amount of matter and energy gradually decreases from producers at lowest level to top consumers at the highest level.
The energy transfer that takes place at each trophic level. There are different levels of energy exchange in the food chain. The initial quantity of energy goes on decreasing at every level of energy exchange. Similarly, the number of organisms also decreases from the lowest level to the highest level. This pattern of energy exchange in an ecosystem is called a ‘Pyramid of energy’.
After the death of apex consumers,their energy becomes available to the decomposers. Fungi and other micro-organisms decompose the bodies of dead animals. They are called decomposers. In the process of obtaining food from the remains of organisms, decomposers convert them into simple carbon compounds. These substances easily mix with air, water and soil from where they are again absorbed by plants and incorporated into the food chain.
The sun is the most important source of energy in any ecosystem. Green plants of the
ecosystem store some of the solar energy in the form of food. Before reaching the decomposers, this energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next. Decomposers dissipate some amount of energy in the form of heat. However, no part of the energy ever returns to the sun. Hence, such passage of energy is referred to as ‘one way’ transport.
