Spatial variability causes uneven soil resource distribution and controls species distribution and recruitment in terrestrial ecosystems. Quantification of the spatial variability is essential for understanding the relationship between soil properties and environmental factors and to estimate attributes at unsampled locations. Spatial variability of soil nutrient can provide guidance for the proper management of forest ecosystem. According to forest resource inventory subplot maps of China, 121 subplots were established. Soil samples for the experiment were collected from soil profiles in the central portion of each plot. Three replicate samples of each horizon at every plot were mixed with roots and stones removed by hand. Soil total nitrogen (TN) was measured using sulfate-perchlorate acid heating digestion-azotometer distillation titration method. All statistical analysis was performed using the open source software R (version 2.7.0). TN spatial distribution predicted by kriging was exported to ArcGIS 9.2 to produce maps. Spatial variability of soil total nitrogen under different layers was examined using classical statistics and geostatistics in Badaling. At the same time, geostatistics combined with geographic information system (GIS) were applied to analyze the relationship of vegetation type and soil total nitrogen. Relationship between elevation, TN of soil and vegetation distribution pattern was evaluated by classification and regression trees (CART). The results showed that:(1) The means of TN were 2.94 g/kg,1.30 g/kg,0.63 g/kg in three different layers, respectively. Coefficient of Variation (CV) of TN were 33%, 33%, 45%, respectively. So they showed medium variability. (2) Optimal theoretical models of TN were spherical model in different layers. Spatial correlation distances of TN-A,TN-B and TN-C were 804m, 1038m and 1400m, respectively. The nugget/sill C₀/(C₀+C) ratio for TN-B and TN-C were 55% and 63%, respectively, suggesting moderate spatial correlation. TN-A has a weak spatial correlation with the C₀/(C₀+C) (78%). The spatial variability of TN-B and TN-C may be affected by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. However, the spatial variability of TN-A may be affected by extrinsic factors. (3) University kriging indicated that spatial distribution TN showed district geographic trends in different layers. The overlay analysis of spatial patterns and vegetation type were used to understand different soil nutrients distributions with different vegetation types. TN had a high distribution in the southwest and northeast of research area and the rest of high content were strips and patches. (4) The CART indicated that the vegetation type distribution pattern of this district can be divided as four main parts, it can be primarily determined that the elevation of 725m, the TN of 4.23 g/kg and 5.69 g/kg were the importance value. As reforestation is a key component of China's long term environmental and conservation strategy, spatial distribution in soil nitrogen contents of different layers can equip the micromanagement decision-making process in determining the proper size of a management unit. The correlation between soil nitrogen and vegetation type is an important factor in selecting tree species for reforestation. Our study provides a general guideline for the selection process.