**1. Introduction**

Forests are important for the conservation of water resources at the landscape level. Thus, the need for conservation and recovery of forests in watersheds is fundamental, according to the new Brazilian forest code [1]. Currently, forests are negatively impacted in different ways. Livestock activity carried out without planning in rural properties can determine negative environmental impacts on the environment and production. The influences of livestock in forest fragment part of the interference in vegetation until the degradation of forest soils, where the animals travel in search of fodder and end up exploring part of the fragments [2]. Soil degradation in livestock areas ends up resulting in low-quality pastures by overgrazing, gullies, sanding, pasture compactions and in the path of animals, floods, siltations, and loss of ravines on the banks of watercourses, among others.

The access of animals in forest areas, as well as their exploitation, promotes a grating and fragmentation of forest areas [2], with this there is a greater luminosity input inside that stimulates the growth of grasses in these areas. These conditions intensify the trampling of the animal and, consequently, soil compaction, due to the demand for fodder in forest areas. Compaction is influenced by texture, aggregation, soil moisture at the time of management practices, traffic and frequency of vehicle trafficking, intentional soil manipulations, and the loss of organic matter [3–5].

Compaction by animal trampled results in changes in soil physical properties, with a rearrangement of mineral and organic solid particles due to the mechanical force applied to the surface and transmitted mainly by soil solids [6]. Compaction is defined as the process of soil porosity decrease, especially the macroporosity occupied by air, increasing the density and resistance to root penetration in the soils. It also decreases water infiltration along the soil profile, causing surface erosion and removals of high soil volumes [7]. Compaction promotes the reduction of the pores of the inter and intra-aggregates, resulting in a dense and massive porous system, which may lead to more pronounced horizontal water flow, and consequently, greater soil erosion [8, 9].

Forest growth is affected by compaction and, consequently, their productivity is reduced, as well as impairs the protection and conservation of soils and water. Increased compaction negatively affects seed germination of native species, root growth of plants, and productivity of mature commercial plantations [5, 10]. This is due to the restriction of root development, through low water infiltration and redistribution, limitation of adsorption and/or absorption of nutrients in the soil, and the precarious aeration of the soil [5, 11].

The main cause of compaction in forest soils is the trafficking of machinery for the management and harvesting of forests, as well as the trafficking of people and animals in the area [12]. Studies also show that anthropic soil compaction occurs with different management practices according to each activity. For example, by the displacement of agricultural machinery in the forest, grain and fruit harvest [9, 13, 14], in fallow areas, no-tillage and no-tillage system of grains [15, 16], and trampled by large domestic animals [17, 18].

The results of soil quality compaction are the breakdown and reduction of macroporosity. In study on orange orchard, Lima et al. [19] found superficial compaction by the farm and by the traffic of machines, affecting the shape and distribution of the poorly space, and the most affected were the biopores.
