Soil total nitrogen (TN) is a critical indicator for assessing soil fertility and quality, and its dynamics are influenced by multiple environmental factors. In temperate grassland ecosystems, spatio-temporal variations of TN are primarily influenced by climate change, topography, land use and other factors. However, previous studies have not adequately addressed TN dynamics and have overlooked wind erosion, a key influencing factor in temperate grasslands. This study employed revisited sampling to compare TN levels between 2014 and 2021. It investigates the spatio-temporal variation of TN at depths of 0-1 cm and 1-6 cm in a typical temperate grassland at the landscape scale, focusing on elucidating the underlying mechanisms and identifying its primary influencing factors. The results indicated that TN content exhibited a significant decreasing trend in the study area, with a 0.043 % reduction at 0-1 cm depth and a 0.012 % reduction at 1-6 cm depth. TN exhibited moderate spatial autocorrelation in both 2014 and 2021, and its spatial variability increased at 1-6 cm depth as the nuggetto-sill ratio increased and the range decreased. Both elevation and slope significantly influenced TN variation. Specifically, higher elevations experienced less TN reduction than lower elevations. TN reduction was more pronounced on leeward slopes than on windward slopes. Higher land-use intensity was associated with greater TN reduction. Areas under long-term ungrazing and markedly reduced land-use intensity showed an decrease in TN reduction. A wind erosion hotspot was identified at a local peak. While moderate erosion intensity led to a 0.048 % decrease in TN, the highly eroded area showed less TN reduction. This can be attributed to the combined effects of low land-use intensity and high vegetation cover in the high-altitude area, which mitigated the impacts of wind erosion on TN variation. This study provides reliable results based on revisited sampling of TN, emphasizing the importance of rational management in maintaining soil N balance in temperate grasslands, and offers scientific guidance for ecological restoration and soil conservation strategies.