While there is ample evidence that microbial processes can exhibit large variations at a field scale, very little is known about the spatial distribution of the communities mediating these processes. The objective of this study was to explore spatial patterns of size and activity of the denitrifying community, a functional guild involved in N-cycling, in a grassland field subjected to different cattle grazing regimes. We used geostatistical modeling to map the distribution of size and activity of the denitrifier community in the pasture. Size of the denitrifier community was estimated by PCR quantification of the denitrification gene copy numbers while its activity was estimated by measuring potential denitrification activity and potential N2O emissions. We found non-random distribution patterns of the size and of the activity of the denitrifier community were observed with a field-scale spatial dependence. The soil properties, which were strongly affected by presence of cattle, imposed significant control on potential denitrification activity, potential N2O production but not on the size of the denitrifier community. The relative abundance of bacteria possessing the nosZ gene encoding the N2O reductase within the total bacterial community was a strong predictor of the N2O/N2 ratio. Overall, our results indicated that patterns of distribution of denitrifiers can be modelled at the field scale. Characterization of such pattern at a field-scale constitutes the first step in modelling distribution of functional bacterial communities at a scale compatible with land management strategies. The abundance of most denitrification genes was not correlated with potential denitrification activity or potential N2O production. However, the relative abundance of bacteria possessing the nosZ gene in the total bacterial community was a strong predictor of the N2O/(N2+N2O) ratio, providing evidence for a relationship between ecosystem processes and bacterial community composition.