Manure application to agricultural land often results in large and variable N₂O emissions. We propose a model with a parsimonious structure to investigate N transformations around such N₂O hotspots. The model allows for new detailed insights into the interactions between transport and microbial activities regarding N₂O emissions in heterogeneous soil environments. It highlights the importance of solute diffusion to N₂O emissions from such hotspots which are often ignored by process-based models.