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Soil penetration resistance is used as an indicator of mechanical resistance to root growth into the soil matrix. However, penetration resistance measured only under wet soil conditions may not identify the effects of cover crops on soil structure. We aimed to determine the impact of individual and mixes of cover crops on soil penetration resistance as a function of water content and bulk density in an Oxisol under no-tillage in southern Brazil. Six treatments of individual and mixed cover crops were tested: (i) black oat; (ii) ryegrass; (iii) forage radish; (iv) wheat; (v) Fibrous-rooted crop mix: with 80 % fibrous-rooted and 20 % tap-rooted plants; and (vi) Tap-rooted crop mix: 40 % fibrous-rooted and 60 % tap-rooted plants. Soil cores were collected from a depth of 0–0.10 and 0.10–0.20 m and soil penetration resistance was evaluated under four soil water matric potentials (−6, −33, −100, and −500 kPa). Soil penetration resistance (Q) data for each treatment were fitted as a function of bulk density (ρ) and water content (θ) [Q=f(ρ, θ)]. The soil penetration resistance model was a non-linear equation (i.e., a double power function, with a negative exponent for water content and a positive exponent for bulk density). Under a given combination of bulk density and water content values, soil penetration resistance was higher after single crops than crop mixes, indicating a crop-mediated soil strengthening process. The cover crop mixes increased the macroporosity, resulting in an adequate soil physical quality for successional crops such as soybean, although no differences were observed for cover crops at soil water matric potentials of −60 hPa and −330 hPa when soil penetration resistance was used as a static measurement. The modelling of the soil resistance to penetration, as a function of soil bulk density and soil water content, showed that cover crops changed soil cohesion and reduced the impact of drying on soil strength when compared to the single cropping systems, indicating that soil penetration resistance should be modelled under a broad range of water contents, instead of only under a specific soil water content, to quantify the impacts of cover crops on soil strength. • Soil penetration resistance curve gave deeper insight into physical changes than single measure. • Mixed cover crops-maintained soil strength despite changes in moisture and bulk density. • Crop diversity improved soil physical quality, reducing strength for root growth. • The use of a crop with taproot system changes the soil structure and strength model. • Soil penetration resistance should be modelled under a broad range of water contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]