An incubation experiment at 25℃ and 60% water holding capacity was conducted to investigate soil net nitrification rate and N₂O emission in typical tea gardens and adjacent woodlands in Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The results indicated that woodland transforming into tea garden significantly decreased soil net nitrification rates in Anhui Province, whereas soil net nitrification rates in tea gardens and adjacent woodlands in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces were very low (N , <0.2 mg/(kg·d)), and were insignificantly different between tea gardens and woodlands. In Anhui Province, soil cumulative N₂O emissions over the 28-day incubation in tea gardens with 10 years more of plantation ages were significantly lower than adjacent woodlands, while there was no difference in soil cumulative N₂O emission between tea garden with 10 years of plantation and adjacent woodland. In Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, soil cumulative N₂O emissions over the 28-d incubation in tea gardens were higher than adjacent woodlands. Soil cumulative N₂O emission had significant positive correlation with pH value in Anhui Province, which indicates that woodland transformed into tea garden decreases soil pH, and thus decreases soil net nitrification rate and N₂O emission in Anhui Province.