Short-term diurnal changes in emissions of CO 2 and N 2 O were determined in a cattle overwintering area during three specific periods of the year. Production of both N 2 O and CO 2 , as determined with gas chambers buried in soil and spatially distributed changed rapidly, and the general course of fluxes of the two gases was different. CO 2 emissions were basically controlled by temperature, and most gas chambers showed the same trends in CO 2 flux, indicating low spatial heterogeneity. In contrast, N 2 O emissions were much more spatially heterogeneous and each chamber had its own time course of emission; therefore, the relationship between flux and temperature was more complicated for N 2 O than CO 2 . For estimating gas emissions over long periods, we strongly recommend the use of frequent emission measurements during periods of high gas fluxes.