An experimental study of thermal and moisture behaviors of dry and wet soils heated by buried capillary plaits was done. This study was carried out on a prototype similar to an agricultural tunnel greenhouse. The experimental procedure consisted on three different measuring phases distinguished by three different operational conditions of the capillary plaits: heating at 70 degrees C heating at 40 degrees C and without heating in summer. During an experimental run, quantities measured are soil temperature, soil water content at various depths, soil surface heat flux, solar radiation under the plastic cover, internal relative humidity, internal and external air temperature. In unsaturated moist soils, the transport of heat is complicated by the fact that heat and mass transfer is a coupled process. During the daily soil temperature variation, it was found that the surface temperature amplitude was higher in wet soil than in dry soil. The water content increased during daytime and decreased during nighttime. The diurnal variation amplitude of water content was higher without underground heating and decreased with the buried heat source temperature. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.