A life zone is a larger division, characterized by landforms, climate, elevation, latitude, and other factors. Life zones are broken down into habitats. Arctic, wetlands, ocean and coast, deserts, grasslands, forests, and disturbed areas. Every habitat is an ecosystem, a community formed of the plants and animals in relation to their environment. Green plants are food producers.
Animals are consumers.
Herbivores, which consume plant matter directly, are primary consumers. Secondary consumers, or primary carnivores, are those that devour primary consumers. Decomposers are life forms such as bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that break down the remains of other organisms, and thus return nutrients to the soil to be used by green plants. The sequence from green plant to secondary carnivore is called the food chain. All habitats have many intricately interrelated food chains, forming a food web.