1st Level
The first level of the food web are the green plants, which get energy from solar radiation. They create this energy using photosynthesis.A warm summer season with abundant moisture encourages plants to grow, and the ground is covered with small plants, flowers, ferns, and grasses.
2nd Level
After the green plants come the primary consumers. These are the animals that get their energy from the plants, and they tend to be herbivores. These consumers include insects, birds, rodents and deer. Rodents such as squirrels, wood mice, and ground squirrels eat plants and their seeds. Deer eat the shrubs, grasses, and the leaves on the lower limbs of trees. Birds eat seeds and berries, and many eat insects as well.
3rd Level
The 3rd level of a deciduous forest's food web includes the secondary consumers. These include foxes and owls (who eat the rodents) and birds, skunks and opposums, who eat insects.
4th Level
This level are the predators, or tertiary consumers. One in a decidious forest is the cougar, which preys on deer and smaller animals.
End
The ending of all things in a deciduous forest is when either detrivores (worms) eat them, or when decomposers (bacteria and fungi) break them down.