This paper reviews animal treading and the associated effects on soil physical properties and pasture productivity from treading-induced soil compaction and pugging. Response curve relationships between soil physical properties (e.g. macroporosity, air-filled porosity, bulk density) and pasture and crop yield are reviewed. Optimum soil macroporosity for maximum pasture and crop yield ranges from 6 to 17% v/v, but there is a paucity of yield response curves for pastoral systems, particularly critical or optimum values of soil physical properties. There is little information available on the ...

<1.3Mg/[m.sup.3]) in their study than is commonly reported in the literature. However, air-filled porosity was 17-38% in the treatments, so air-filled porosity per se may not have been limiting to ryegrass growth. Houlbrooke et al. (1997) concluded that adverse effects were possibly due to the volcanic nature of the soil. It should be noted that although bulk density><4%, indicating poor aeration. Douglas (1994) reviewed traffic-induced compaction in European forage pasture. He concluded that productivity decline was through deterioration in bulk density or air-filled porosity. This is illustrated by the comparison of traffic systems in Fig. 4, demonstrating yields of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were greatest when soil macropore volume was greatest. Macropores in that study were defined as pores>

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