With the intense mechanization of forest operations, soil compaction, caused by the traffic, may limit high productivities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the alterations in the physical and mechanical properties of the following Latosol: a) Red-Yellow Latosol due to different traffic intensities and load of a Forwarder in the Santa Maria de Itabira region - MG; b) Yellow Latosol and a Red Latosol due to different traffic intensities of a Forwarder on different residue disposition in the Belo Oriente and São João Evangelista regions, MG. In the Santa Maria de Itabira region, it were collected at 0-3 and 10-13 cm depths, 10 undisturbed soil samples with no traffic and where the Forwarder trafficked 2, 4 and 8 times and in the place where the Forwarder trafficked 4 times with 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3 of its load. In the Belo Oriente and São João Evangelista regions, 20 undisturbed soils samples were collected in the traffic line where the Forwarder trafficked 2 and 8 times, in four conditions of residue disposition. The undisturbed soil samples were used in the uniaxial compression. It was also determined, physical and chermical characteristics of the soils. All the traffic intensities and load of the Forwarder in the Santa Maria de Itabira region caused soil compaction mainly at 10-13 cm depth. I the Belo Oriente and São João Evangelista regions, the number of passes of the Forwarder equal to 8 caused greater compaction of the soil, being minimized, in the residue conditions of Brushwood plus Bark and Brushwood.
Soil compaction; soil density; total porosity; preconsolidation pressure; forest mechanization; Eucalyptus spp
