In the Pacific Northwest, Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands and savannas were once maintained by Native Americans by frequent, low-intensity burning. Since the 1850s, the absence of regular fire has allowed conifers, such as Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), to invade oak stands and eventually overtop the shade-intolerant oaks. Restoration of these oak ecosystems entails removal of conifers (oak release) and shrubby understory vegetation, but it is unclear to what extent these treatments will affect soil water. Our objective was to determine the influences of overstory conifers and understory vegetation on volumetric soil water content (VSWC; measurement depth = 10-25 cm) in a stand of oaks overtopped by Douglas-fir. The study was near Olympia, Washington, on a rapidly-draining Spanaway gravelly sandy loam soil. Growing-season precipitation (May-September) is 19.1 cm. Treatments were: presence/absence of overstory Douglas-fir and presence/absence of understory vegetation. From October through April of 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, VSWC averaged 34% and did not differ among treatments. However, from May through September of 2003 and from May through August of 2004, VSWC was significantly increased (16% vs. 12% in August) by removal of Douglas-fir. Removal of understory vegetation significantly increased VSWC during the summer (18% vs. 15%), but only when the Douglas-fir overstory also was removed. We measured throughfall (May-July) beneath crowns of overtopped and released oaks. In 2003, when May-July precipitation totaled 4.0 cm (long-term average = 10.8 cm), throughfall was 110% greater beneath released oaks than beneath oaks overtopped by conifers. The effect of release on throughfall was greatest during light precipitation events. On sites such as this, removal of the coniferous overstory will increase soil water, likely improving availability of water to released oak trees and other vegetation. Restoration treatments that remove the shrubby understory will increase soil water, but only if overstory conifers are removed.