Changes in concentrations of dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, pH, Fe and Mn were monitored from the laboratory incubation of an benthic chamber. The extent of sedimentary organic carbon and nitrogen decomposition was quantified by applying the concentration data to the chemical reaction equations of early diagenesis. The patterns of the concentration changes, observed during the 237 hr long incubation experiment, made it possible to divide the entire experiment period into four characteristic sub-periods (0-9 hr, 9-45 hr, 45-141hr, 141-237 hr). C/N ratio, estimated for each sub-period, was 6.63, 1.49, 0.81 and 0.02, respectively. This sequential decrease in C/N ratio suggests that during the incubation experiment dissolved nitrogen species diffuse more out of the sediment than dissolved carbon species. Greater diffusion of nitrogen indicates the preferential decomposition of organic nitrogen during early diagenesis of sedimentary organic matter. Comparison of the concentration data (sedimentary organic carbon and nitrogen, porewater organic carbon and ammonia)between the sediment pre and post incubation also indicates the preferential decomposition of nitrogen during early diagenesis of sedimentary organic matter.