Measurements of soil volumetric moisture content and temperature were made at 2, 4, 7, 10, and 15 cm below the surface of a bare field soil, over a 1-week period at 20-min intervals. The conductive heat and liquid moisture fluxes were calculated for the soil layer 7--10 cm below the surface, and the water vapor flux was then determined from both the energy transfer and mass transfer equations. Water vapor flux in this layer transported a significant amount of the total energy flux (up to 50%) and an appreciable amount of the total moisture flux (up to 25%). There was reasonable agreement between the water vapor flux calculated by the mass transfer equation and the vapor flux calculated by the energy equation. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union