Shallow tillage (ST) has a major impact on the physical properties of the top ~20 cm soil compared to moldboard ploughing (MP). This in turn influences root growth and soil biotic activity. At field capacity in the spring, we measured cone penetration resistance of the top 40 cm soil and sampled intact soil cores (0-4 and 14-18 cm depths) at 11 field experiments (4-18% clay) after continued ST and MP management for 4-8 years (two experiments: >30 years). Soil bulk density, water content and gas permeability at field capacity were measured for all soil cores. At two locations, gas diffusivity was measured as well, and these studies included a range in water potentials (-15 to -1500 hPa). The cone penetration resistance for the ~10-20 cm layer of ST soil was generally close to or exceeded the often quoted 1.5 MPa critical limit for root growth. For the majority of locations at 0-4 cm depth, the ST treatment induced a higher water content at field capacity than did MP. For the 14-18 cm layer, the treatments generally had similar volumetric water contents at field capacity, but expressed per mass of dry soil it was higher for the MP than the ST treatment. Across the 11 field experiments, the soil at 14-18 cm depth generally displayed reduced air-filled pore space and gas permeability for the ST compared with the MP treatment. Also the specific gas permeability (pore organization) tended to be lower for the ST than for the MP treatment. In accordance with this, the extended analysis at two locations showed that for the 14-18 cm layer, the ST treatment induced higher soil pore tortuosities at a given water potential than the MP treatment. However, for a given level of air-filled pore space, the ST soil had lower tortuosities.