Final answer:
Succession leads to a gradual and natural change in ecosystem composition, resulting in a balanced community of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a mature forest, not just producers and decomposers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Changes in an ecosystem over a long period of time represent a process known as succession. This ecological concept encompasses the gradual change in species composition in a given area. Over time, due to various disturbances, whether natural like lightning-induced forest fires, or human-induced such as deforestation, the initial ground cover of grasses will give way to bushes and shrubs, eventually leading to the development of mature forests. Such successions typically result in a diverse ecosystem that includes producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Eventually, the system is expected to reach a climax community, which is a stable end point of succession where the ecosystem is in balance, consisting largely of producers (plants) and decomposers (fungi and bacteria), with consumers also being present. However, the end stage you mentioned, with only producers and decomposers, suggests an over-simplification because a healthy forest ecosystem will also have a variety of consumers.
Therefore, the answer to the question, 'These changes will most likely lead to a forest consisting of only producers and decomposers,' is not entirely accurate because a mature forest ecosystem includes consumers in addition to producers and decomposers, all functioning together in a dynamic balance.