A forest die-back caused by a beetle outbreak on lodgepole and limber pine was used to assess the relative importance of root inputs to the soil food web and chemistry of soils in the Colorado Front Range. We measured a suite of biological and chemical parameters at six sites containing both live and dead trees. We found an increase in amounts of soil inorganic N, decreased soil lable C, and thus a decreased soil labile C:N ratio. Soil microbial biomass declined, and microbial community shifted from fungal dominance to bacterial dominance, and this change was reflected in an increase in invertebrate bacterivores within the soil. Neither total soil nematodes nor microarthropods showed a response although nematode community composition changed due to the changed resource structure. Bacterial feeding nematodes increased but plant parasites decreased under dead trees. Our study suggested that forest dieback caused by beetle outbreaks had a profound effect on soil C and N dynamics and significantly altered the soil food web. While fluxes have yet to be measured, increased soil inorganic N accumulation has occurred and will likely produce increased N loss from affected ecosystems. The shift from fungal based soil food web to a bacterial based one may also contribute to enhanced N flux from these systems.