Producers and Animals

When a plant’s roots take water from the soil, they also take in minerals. The plant needs these minerals to grow. When an animal eats the plant, the same minerals help the animal grow. When the animal dies, decomposers return the minerals to the soil. This cycling assures that the minerals never will be used up. There are other cycles in the environment. Plants make oxygen and animals use that oxygen to breathe. This is called the oxygen cycle. Another cycle is the carbon dioxide cycle. When animals breathe out, they release carbon dioxide into the air. Plants use that carbon dioxide to make food.

Animals use oxygen and produce carbon dioxide for plants. They also get their nutrients by eating plants.View Larger Image

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