Tensiometers were installed in a 25 m² area plot, every 15 cm, at depths varying from 30 to 240 cm, with three repetitions, to determine the matric potential (φm) of a "Terra Roxa Estruturada Latossólica" soil. Its volumetric water content was also indirectly measured by using the soil water retention curve. The θ-method (Libardi et al., 1980) fitted the soil redistribution profiles (θ vs t) with determination coefficients (R²) greater than 0.98. The hyphotesis of a unit hydraulic gradient was verified only in the Bw horizon. In the Bt, the hydraulic gradient varied from 1.00 to 3.89 m m-1; thus the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at these depths was greater than the values obtained by the Hillel et al. (1972) procedure. The volumetric soil water content at field capacity varied from 0.45 to 0.33 m³ m-3 that corresponds to a matric potential (-φm) of 0.0075 to 0.0014 MPa and an unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of 0.00068 to 0.00750 cm h-1. Increased bulk density and microporosity, as the result of a block structure formation in the shallower Bt, compared to the deeper Bw horizons, accounted for the value differences of the hydraulic properties of the TE soil.
soil morphology; structure; porosity; hydraulic conductivity; Bw; Bt