Seasonal dynamics of N2O flux and its controlling factors for four representative temperate forests in northeastern China were examined with a static closed chamber-gas chromatograph technique. These forests were Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) plantation, Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) plantation, Mongolian oak ( Quercus mongolica) forest and hardwood broadleaved forest (dominated by Fraxinus mandshurica, Juglans mandshurica, and Phellodendron amurense). The results showed that all ecosystems were overall atmospheric N2O source during the growing season. The N2O flux (microg x m(-2) x h(-1)) decreased in order of the hardwood broadleaved forest (21.0 +/- 4.9) > the pine plantation (17.6 +/- 4. 6) > the larch plantation (9.8 +/- 5.9) > the oak forest (1.6 +/- 12.6). Overall, there was no consistent seasonal pattern in N2O flux for the four ecosystems. The N2O flux was significantly positively correlated to soil gravimetric water content (0-10 cm depth) consistently for all ecosystems, but significantly negatively correlated to NO3(-)-N content for each ecosystem. However, the responses of N2O flux to soil temperature and NH4(+)-N differed among the ecosystems. The N2O fluxes for the coniferous plantations were positively correlated to NH4(+)-N, but not correlated to the soil temperature at 5 cm depth; while those for the broadleaved forests displayed an opposite trend. The soil water content was the dominator of soil N2O emission for the forests in 2007 perhaps resulting from relative drought in the year. Interactions of vegetation type, environmental factor, and nitrogen availability to soil N2O emission should be further studied in the future.