Assessment spatial soil physical properties under rotational cattle grazing in Northeastern Brazil

•Soil physical properties were investigated in response to grazing.•Grazing caused a noticeable increase in the soil penetration resistance.•Soil physical quality was reduced due to compaction.•Decrease in physical quality can be noticed after two grazing periods. Soils in areas under grazing undergo physical changes, of greater or lower intensity, by the action of animal trampling. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial dependence of the physical attributes and associated soil functionalities under trampling by cattle on rotational grazing in the region of Pernambuco, Brazil. The research was conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Agreste region of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. In the field, a paddock of 0.25 ha was demarcated and four crossbred dairy cattle (Holstein-Zebu) with an average weight of 450 kg were used, managed in a rotational grazing system that included 7 days of occupation and 28 days for pasture rest. Undisturbed soil samples were collected before the first passage of the animals in the paddock and at the end of each pasture rest period, i.e., at 0, 35, 70 and 105 days of study, in a 6 × 14 m mesh, which totalled 32 sampling points. At each point, bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), water content (W), soil penetration resistance (PR) at depths of 0.00–0.10 and 0.10–0.20 m and the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (K0) were determined. The data obtained were submitted to descriptive, geostatistical and multivariate statistical analysis (canonical discriminant analysis). After a period of 105 days of grazing, at both evaluated depths, an increase in the average values of PR and BD and a reduction in the values of TP, K0 and W was observed. Normal distribution was observed in all variables studied. The physical attributes of the soil presented a coefficient of variation between low and medium and strong spatial dependence in both grazing periods. The canonical multivariate analysis indicated a reduction in the soil physical quality, especially after the animals' second passage in the paddock.