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Monitoring of soil nitrogen (N) cycling is useful to assess soil quality and to gauge the sustainability of management practices.We studied net N mineralization,nitrification,and soil N availability in the 0-10 cm and 11-30 cm soil horizons in east China during 2006-2007 using an in sito incubation method in four subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest stands aged 18-,36-,48-,and 65-years.The properties of surface soil and forest floor varied between stand age classes.C:N ratios of surface soil and forest floor decreased,whereas soil total N and total organic C,available P,and soil microbial biomass N increased with stand age.The mineral N pool was small for the young stand and large for the older stands.NO3-N was less than 30％ in all stands.Net rates of N mineralization and nitrification were higher in old stands than in younger stands,and higher in the 0-10 cm than in the 11-30 cm horizon.The differences were significant between old and young stands (p ＜0.031) and between soil horizons (p ＜ 0.005).Relative nitrification was somewhat low in all forest stands and declined with stand age.N transformation seemed to be controlled by soil moisture,soil microbial biomass N,and forest floor C:N ratio.Our results demonstrate that analyses of N cycling can provide insight into the effects of management disturbances on forest ecosystems.