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The transport of soluble salts through unsaturated field soils is directly related to the movement of water, but our understanding of the process is limited because of the lack of experimental data (Kachanoski et al., 1992). Simultaneous and continuous in situ measurement of volumetric soil water content () and soluble salt concentration (c) is essential to clarify the distribution and movement of salts in the soil profile under cropped conditions. Volumetric soil water content and electrical conductivity of bulk soil (EC a) can be measured simultaneously using a time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensor (Dalton et al., 1984; Dirksen, 1999). Furthermore, electrical conductivity of soil solution (EC w), from which soluble salt concentration is estimated with good accuracy (Tanji, 1990), can be calculated from and EC a using a model equation (Wang et al., 2005). Therefore it is possible to measure and c simultaneously and continuously at a point in the field using a TDR probe.

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