A chronosequence study was undertaken to determine the period of maximum soil mineral-N availability and NO3− movement following clearcutting in a Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis [Dougl.] Forbes)-western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla [Raf.] Sarg.) dominated ecosystem on southern Vancouver Island. In situ buried soil bag incubations, ion exchange resin (IER) bags, and lysimeters were the methods used, over a two-year period, to detect mineral-N and dissolved organic-N (DON) fluxes in a 400-year-old stand as well as in four clearcut sites ranging between 3 and 28 years in age. In an uncut old forest, mineralizable-N in buried bags was highest among sites in early summer, but extremely low in early fall. Clearcut sites sustained relatively high N-mineralization rates throughout the growing season, with the highest rate occurring on the 4-year-old site and lower rates occurring in the older clearcuts. Net NO3− consumption occurred on all sites in early summer and relatively low rates of nitrification were observed in the fall. Mineral-N accretion on IERs was highest in the 5-year-old clearcut and most of this N was in the NO3− form, probably as a result of the anion's relative mobility and the higher soil moisture content on the younger clearcut. Solution concentrations of dissolved-N collected in zero-tension lysimeters beneath the forest floor and in tension (- 33 cbar) lysimeters at 60 cm depth in the mineral soil were generally < 0.10 ppm for NC>3−, < 0.20 ppm for NH4+ and < 1.0 ppm for DON. Concentrations of NO3− collected at 60 cm depth peaked during the 3-to-5 year period following clearcutting. Differences in net ammonification and net nitrification rates are discussed in terms of factors controlling the production and consumption of NH4+ and NO3−, most notably the availability of reduced C following clearcutting. Absolute height increments of advance regeneration Pacific silver fir increased exponentially during the first five years after clearcutting, remained unchanged for the next four years, and gradually decreased for the next three years. The concentration of N in current-year Pacific silver fir needles from the 4-year-old clearcut (1.22%) was approximately 50% higher than in those from the 7-year-old (0.88%) and 11-year-old (0.83%) clearcuts. Results suggested that maximum miner-al-N availability and potential NO3− leaching both occurred at 4-to-5 years after clearcutting, and that regenerating Pacific silver fir seedlings competed with nitrophilous early-seral species in capturing some of this N.