Aggrading temperate forests sequester significant C during regeneration. The extent that soils play in C sequestration in these forests is of question. In this study, we focused on the flux of soil organic carbon (SOC) in forests recovering from agricultural abandonment and the processes governing net sequestration at a landscape scale. We used a chronosequence of 25, 50, and 75-year old forests recovering from agricultural abandonment in southern New England to measure SOC sequestration rates. To account for previous land-use practices, soils of the same type were sampled from paired sites containing previously cultivated forests and adjacent agriculture fields still under cultivation. Sites were separated into two land-use change categories to test the effect of forest type on SOC sequestration: agriculture to deciduous forest, and agriculture to coniferous forest. Concentrations of SOC between the forests and fields were compared. Processes governing SOC sequestration were examined in three small, forested watersheds. Additions of SOC were attributed to leaf litter, dead-fall, and roots. Losses to the SOC pool were measured as CO₂ respiration and dissolved organic C. Leaf litter and root biomass contributed on average 11.95 Mg C ha^-1 within a watershed. Losses of SOC totaled 9.41 Mg C ha^-1, with almost all of the losses in the form of soil CO₂ respiration (9.40 Mg C ha^-1). Most of these losses (83%) occurred from May until October. Mass balance calculations indicate a net SOC sequestration of 2.54 Mg C ha^-1 over the data collection period. Carbon sequestration rates from two paired sites were 0.83 and 1.15 Mg C ha^-1 year^-1 for 50 and 75 year old coniferous forests, respectively. These landscape level SOC sequestration rates compare favorably to rates calculated using the chronosequence approach.