Abstract: 【Objective】 To investigate the effects of maize-soybean intercropping on crop root length density and spatial distribution of soil nutrients in the oasis region of Xinjiang,aiming to provide a reference for improving the productivity of intercropping patterns. 【Methods】 Using maize variety Zhengdan 958 and soybean variety Dongsheng No. 5 as experimental materials,three treatments were set：monocropped maize（MM）,monocropped soybean（MS）,and maize-soybean intercropping（IMS）. Crop root length density（RLD）,as well as organic matter,total nitrogen,total phosphorus,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available phosphorus contents in the 0-60 cm soil layer at the jointing,silking,and maturity stages,were measured. The yield and land equivalent ratio（LER） were also analyzed. 【Results】 Whole growth period,the total root length density of intercropped maize（IM） increased by an average of 49.43% compared with MM,while intercropped soybean（IS） increased by an average of 90.67% compared with MS;soil organic matter content in the 0-20 cm soil layer in IM decreased by an average of 14.11% compared with MM,while in the 20-40 cm soil layer in IS,it increased by an average of 8.57% compared with MS;soil total nitrogen content in the 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm soil layers in IM increased by an average 16.68% and 29.05%,respectively,compared with MM,while in the 0-20 cm,20-40 cm,and 40-60 cm soil layers in IS,it decreased by an average 24.51%,31.20%,and 42.80%,respectively,compared with MS;soil total phosphorus content in the 0-20 cm,20-40 cm,and 40-60 cm soil layers in IM increased by an average 27.84%,59.67%,and 141.55%,respectively,compared with MM,whereas in the 20-40 cm soil layer in IS,it decreased by an average 13.59% and in the 40-60 cm soil layer,it increased significantly by an average 134.01% compared with MS（P<0.05）;soil alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content in the 0-20 cm,20-40 cm,and 40-60 cm soil layers in IM decreased by an average 6.97%,7.30%,and 25.37%,respectively,compared with MM,while in IS it decreased by an average 5.72%,17.46%,and 45.66%,respectively,compared with MS;soil available phosphorus content in the 40-60 cm soil layer in IM decreased by an average 31.10% compared with MM,and in the 0-20 cm,20-40 cm,and 40-60 cm soil layers in IS,it decreased by an average 29.47%,21.93%,and 19.53%,respectively,compared with MS. Yield of IM decreased significantly by 21.49% compared with MM（P<0.05）,and yield of IS decreased significantly by 35.50% compared with MS（P<0.05）. However,LER of the maize-soybean intercropping was 1.43（>1）,indicating an intercropping advantage. 【Conclusion】 Although maize-soybean intercropping leads to intense competition for soil available nutrients and a suppression in crop yield,it can still improve soil nutrient content and overall crop yield through root spatial complementarity,demonstrating a significant intercropping advantage.

Key words: Maize, Soybean, Intercropping, Root length density, Soil nutrients, Spatial distribution