Final answer:
Chemical elements are transferred from producers to consumers through food chains and are recycled via biogeochemical cycles, involving consumption, metabolism, and decomposition.
Step-by-step explanation:
The chemical elements from producers are transferred to consumers through food chains and biogeochemical cycles. Producers, such as plants, convert sunlight into chemical energy during photosynthesis, creating organic molecules that incorporate elements like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Consumers, such as animals, then eat these producers or other consumers that have eaten producers, thus assimilating the chemical elements into their own bodies. As consumers metabolize organic molecules for energy, these elements are transferred through each level of the food chain. When organisms die, decomposers break down their bodies, releasing these elements back into the environment, where they can be used again by producers, thus continuing the cycle.