Abstract
A pilot study was undertaken in the Saint Marys Range, Canterbury, New Zealand to assess how soil moisture varies with depth in a shallow subalpine mineral soil. Observations of soil moisture over a three-week period showed the top 35 cm of the profile to respond to both drying and wetting cycles, but at depths greater than 60 cm there was little change in volumetric water content. At field capacity the potential available water depth was 62 mm, over a 300 mm soil profile. Infiltration rates between 10 and13 mm hr-1 (high for a silty loam) reflect the rocky fragments contained in the soil.