I'd say heat, more specifically sunlight.
Why?
Because sun is the form of energy needed for plants to grow and live. Plants in turn are the form of energy needed for herbivores to live that later on turn out to be the form of energy needed by the carnivores. When these die, decomposers will be the ones to take advantage of the energy.
As you can see an ecosystem has already been formed: producers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers or decomposers.
Hope it helped,
Happy homework/ study/ exam!
