The objective of the investigation was to ascertain changes in the total contents, as well as water-soluble forms of iron, manganese, zinc and copper during the process of composting of pine bark with plant material (PM), with or without the addition of effective microorganisms (EM). Experiments were carried out at a forest nursery area and comprised the following treatments: pile 1. pine bark, pile 2. pine bark + PM, pile 3. pine bark + PM + EM. Compost piles were formed from pine bark (4 m3) and as described above, 2 Mg of plant material were added to pile 2 and to pile 3 – plant material and effective microorganisms in the amount of 3 dm3·m-3 bark. All compost files were also supplemented with 0.3 kg P2O5·m-3 (in the form of superphosphate 20% P2O5) and 0,1 kg K2O·m-3 (in the form of potassium salt 60%). The plant material comprised a mixture of buckwheat, field pea, serradella and vetch harvested before flowering. Piles were mixed and formed with the tractor aerator. At defined dates, using the method of atomic spectrophotometry, total contents of iron, manganese, zinc and copper, as well as their water-soluble forms were determined. It was found that all the examined elements underwent changes, albeit with different dynamics. This was particularly apparent in the case of water-soluble forms. This solubility was, in general, high during the initial days of the process and declined with the passage of time. No significant impact of effective microorganisms on the solubility of the examined chemical elements was determined, especially in mature composts.