Decay is a process cause by microorganism (most of the time). Decay involves microorganisms growing on dead plants/animals and digesting them. Microorganisms when they digest break down the complex compounds and leave them on their basic element form. An example this is protein. Protein is a very complicated compound, but when microorganism break it down, they break the bonds and release it back into the ground as the elements that make the protein and not the actual protein.
This is important due to the fact if this process didn't happen. Plants and animals would constantly be used and nevertheless returning, slowly depleting the planet away until there was no nutrients left to support life.
Decay also happens through excretion. When a animal eats a plant, the nutrients it can digest are ridden of from the body through excretion. Eventually microorganisms build up on the fesses and break it down, releasing the simple elements (which where too complicate for the animal to digest) back into the earth.
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