The production/consumption of greenhouse gases (GHG) in soils are of great importance in global warming, but the involved soil physico-chemical and biological characteristics affecting GHG production and consumption potentials are poorly understood in different land-use types. Carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) production/consumption potentials from four land-use types and 10 soil types in central Japan and eastern Hungary, and their relationships with soil characteristics, were investigated. The average of CO2 production in Japanese soils was significantly higher than that of Hungarian soils due to the relatively higher microbial biomass carbon (MBC) content. N2O production from both countries' soils did not exhibit a significant difference. Most soils except Japanese paddy and soybean soils showed the potentials for CH4 consumption. Forest and grassland soils had relatively higher CO2 and N2O production than orchard and cropland soils for both countries. From regression analyses, it could be concluded that soil total nitrogen (TN) and ammonium-nitrogen (NH4 (+)-N) account for 40.8% and 25.5% variations of the soils' CO2 and N2O productions, respectively. The CH4 consumption was positively correlated with soil carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio, while soil MBC availability could account for 15% variation of CH4 consumption under aerobic conditions.
