Agroforestry systems provide many environmental benefits in semi-arid regions; however, trampling by cattle, and agricultural practices, can degrade physical quality of the soil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of compaction and the compression behaviour of a Luvisol after 14 years under agro-silvopastoral (ASP) and silvopastoral systems (SILV), compared with a soil under natural vegetation (NV). We evaluated the degree of soil compactness, compaction index, pre-consolidation pressure, maximum bulk density, critical water content and the stocks of total organic carbon (C), organic matter (OM), C in light organic matter (LOM), and nitrogen (N) in LOM. The results indicated that agroforestry systems change the compressive behaviour of the soil, increasing maximum bulk density (P 0.05) under ASP, SILV and NV. This suggests a change in the quality of OM, as evidenced by the lower values for stocks of N in LOM (P 0.05). After 14 years, the degree of compactness and load-bearing capacity of the soils under ASP and SILV had not increased, being suitable for plant growth.
