To understand soil respiration and its sensitivity to temperature is an important basis for accurately evaluating the response of terrestrial carbon cycles to future climatic change. There is a large area of shelter forests in the long silting coast in China. In this study, soil respirations of two shelter forestlands i.e. Poplar(Populus tomentntosa Carr.) and Water fir (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) plantations were investigated in a silting coastal area of northern Jiangsu Province. Soil CO2 flux was measured in situ with the static alkali absorption method. Results showed that between Apr. and Nov. the soil respiration rate of the Poplar plantation varied from 337 to 732mgCO2m-2h-1 and that of Water fir forestland varied from 257 to 821mgCO2m-2h-1. And the total CO2 fluxes of this period were 128.57gCO2m-2 and 121.38gCO2m-2 for Poplar and Water fir plantations, respectively. Temperature was the major factor controlling soil respiration. And the soil water content was not significantly correlated with soil respiration rate and it was not a key factor to soil respiration. Forest air temperature, and 2cm, 5cm, and 10cm soil depth temperatures were all significantly correlated with soil respiration rate in both plantations. The Q10 values calculated with the forest air temperature and soil temperature of 0, 5, 10cm depth were 145, 1.97, 2.08, 2.01 for Poplar plantation, respectively and were 1.92, 3.29, 2.89, 3.00 for water fir plantation, respectively. Soil respiration was more sensitivity to temperature in Water fir plantation than that of poplar plantation.