Matter in ecosystems is described as:

• A. It is continually recycled within ecosystems
• B. It accumulates in producers
• C. It is created and destroyed
• D. It flows only from consumers to decomposers

Answer: (A)

Matter in ecosystems is continually recycled within ecosystems. The nutrients and elements move through living things and the physical environment in biogeochemical cycles, not being created or destroyed overall. Plants take up inorganic nutrients and carbon, animals eat those plants, and when organisms die or produce waste, decomposers break everything down and release nutrients back into soil, water, or the atmosphere so they can be used again. This looping of matter contrasts with energy, which flows through the system and is eventually lost as heat.