A modified soil-block test was used to compare the bark-decomposing ability of various soil- and root-inhabiting fungi. Bark of Pinus taeda was highly resistant to decomposition by all 31 fungi tested. A brown-rot fungus, Lenzites saepiaria, caused the most weight loss, but weight losses due to decay by all fungi varied only from 3 to 15%. Isolates of Mucorales produced 3–8% weight losses from stem bark in 12 weeks. Available nutrients were used within 6 weeks; longer incubation resulted in little additional decomposition. Losses in weight from root bark and stem bark were similar, indicating little nutritional difference between these two substrates.Extraction of stem bark with ethanol or water before incubation with Fomes annosus, L. saepiaria, or Scytalidinun lignicola did not increase the amount of decomposition. This suggests that extractives in the bark may not be responsible for the slow rate of decay. Since autoclaving of the bark before incubation with the fungi enabled the fungi to cause more weight loss than did gas sterilization of the bark, the primary reason for the slow rate of decomposition by fungi is considered to be the complex molecular structure of the bark constituents.