The aerobic decomposition of barley silage treated with two inoculants (LacA and LacB) containing mixtures of Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium was investigated over a 28-day period. Initially, yeast and bacterial populations were larger in silage inoculated with LacA than in silage treated with LacB or water alone (control). Differences in the succession of yeasts in silage treated with LacA were observed relative to the other two treatments. From silage treatment with LacA, Issatchenkia orientalis was the most prevalent yeast taxon over all of the sample times, and the filamentous fungus Microascus brevicaulis was also frequently isolated at later sample dates (> or = 14 days). In contrast, Saccharomyces exiguus was the most prominent yeast recovered from silage treated with LacB and water alone on days 2 and 4, although it was supplanted by I. orientalis at later sample times. Successional trends of bacteria were similar for all three treatments. Lactobacillus spp. were initially the most prevalent bacteria isolated, followed by Bacillus spp. (primarily Bacillus pumilus). However, the onset of Bacillus spp. prominence was faster in LacA silage, and Klebsiella planticola was frequently recovered at later sample times (> or = 14 days). More filamentous fungi were recovered from LacA silage on media containing carboxylmethylcellulose, pectin, or xylan. The most commonly isolated taxa were Absidia sp., Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Byssochlamys nivea, Monascus ruber, Penicillium brevicompactum, Pseudoallescheria boydii, and M. brevicaulis. The results of this study indicated that the two bacterial inoculants incorporated into barley at the time of ensilage affected the microbial ecology of silage decomposition following exposure to air. However, neither of the microbial inoculants effectively delayed aerobic spoilage of barley silage, and the rate of decomposition of silage treated with one of the inoculants (LacA) was actually enhanced.