Annual fluxes of N₂O trace gas emissions were assessed after stratifying German forest soils into Seasonal Emission Pattern (SEP) and Background Emission Pattern (BEP). Broad-leaved forests with soil pH(KCl) ≤ 3.3 were assigned to have SEP, broad-leaved forests with soil pH(KCl) > 3.3 and all needle-leaved forests to have BEP. BEPs were estimated by a relationship between annual N₂O emissions and carbon content of the O-horizon. SEPs were primarily controlled by temperature and moisture and simulated by the model Expert-N after calibration to a 9-year record of N₂O measurements. Analysis with different climate and soil properties indicated that the model reacts highly sensitive to changes in soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil texture. A geographic information system (ARC/INFO) was used for a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km grid where land cover, dominant soil units, and hygro climate classes were combined. The mean annual N₂O emission flux from German forest soils was estimated as 0.32 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Broad-leaved forests with SEP had the highest emissions (2.05 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) followed by mixed forests (0.38 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), broad-leaved forests (0.37 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), and needle-leaved forests with BEP (0.17 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹). The annual N₂O emission from German forest soils was calculated as 3.26 Gg N₂O-N yr⁻¹. Although needle-leaved trees cover about 57% of the entire forest area in Germany, their contribution is low (0.96 Gg N₂O-N yr⁻¹). Broad-leaved forests cover about 22% of the forest area but have 55% higher emissions (1.49 Gg N₂O-N yr⁻¹) than needle-leaved. Mixed forests cover 21% of the area and contribute 0.81 Gg N₂O-N yr⁻¹. Compared to the total N₂O emissions in Germany of 170 Gg N yr⁻¹, forest soils contribute only 1.9%. However, there are some uncertainties in this emission inventory, which are intensely discussed.