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Reports on the incubation of forest floor samples from a three tree species (Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.), and paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.)). Rates of N mineralization in the forest floors of Douglas-fir that was significantly greater than either birch or lodgepole pine; Douglas-fir forest floors that also mineralized more N per unit of either N or C than the other species; Nitrogen mineralization rates that were positively correlated with the N concentration of the forest floor; Nitrogen concentration of foliar litter that were poor predictors of N mineralization rates resulting from Douglas-fir litter having the lowest N concentrations in litter but the highest rates of net N mineralization in the forest floor; Nitrogen mineralization in the forest floor that was negatively correlated with the lignin concentration in foliar litter; Douglas-fir litter that had low lignin concentrations, which may allow more of the mineralized N to remain in inorganic forms rather than being bound in humus; Results that suggest that a component of Douglas-fir might improve N availability in coniferous forest floors.