The complexity of coupled transport of heat and moisture at the soil surface necessitates a combination of field and numerical experiments to evaluate the interactions between liquid and vapor phase flow. The near-surface moisture and temperature conditions of a bare soil were investigated experimentally and by using the SOIL model to assess the importance of water vapor flow. During a 1-month period in early fall, intensive measurements of water content, water tension, and temperature were made in a bare soil plot. Soil thermal conductivity, measured on soil cores extracted for laboratory analysis, was found to agree with estimates based on the Kersten equation. Simulated water content and soil temperature agreed well with observations. Modeled soil vapor flow was significant compared to liquid flow only during the initial dry days when the inclusion of vapor flow improved the predicted diurnal variation in water tension. Model predictions were sensitive to an accurate representation of the soil surface energy balance, including the consideration of steep gradients in tension near the soil surface, and to the enhancement of vapor flow. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union