To explore the amelioration effect of intercropping salt-tolerant forage grasses with halophytes on saline-alkali soils， a field experiment was conducted with four treatments： CK （monoculture of Echinochloa frumentacea）， T₁ （intercropping E. frumentacea with Suaeda salsa）， T₂ （intercropping E. frumentacea with Atriplex aucheri） and T₃ （intercropping E. frumentacea with Salicornia europaea）. The synergistic effects of intercropping different halophytes on soil quality and E. frumentacea yield were investigated. Compared with CK， all the intercropping treatments significantly reduced bulk density （BD）， pH and total dissolved salts （TDS） in the 0~40 cm soil layer. The largest reductions （8.84%， 7.19% and 19.86%， respectively） were observed under T₁. Soil total porosity （STP）， soil organic matter （SOM）， alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen （AN）， available phosphorus （AP） and readily available potassium （AK） were markedly increased， with T₁ showing the greatest increments （13.38%， 26.02%， 60.01%， 26.46% and 22.13%， respectively）. Activities of soil urease （UE）， invertase （INV） and catalase （CAT） rose by 48.86 %， 45.51% and 54.11% under T₁， providing a favorable soil environment for seedling emergence and growth of E. frumentacea. Grain yields under T₁， T₂ and T₃ were significantly higher than that of CK， with increases of 55.71%， 40.01% and 20.95%， respectively. E. frumentacea yield was positively correlated with STP， soil fertility indices and enzyme activities， and negatively correlated with BD and salinity-alkalinity indicators. The soil quality index （SQI） calculated from the full dataset ranked the treatments as T₁>T₂>T₃>CK. In conclusion， intercropping E. frumentacea with S. salsa is the optimal pattern for improving saline-alkali soil quality and crop productivity， and can serve as an effective biological amelioration measure in the Ningxia Yellow River irrigation district and similar ecological regions.

Saline-alkali soil  /  Halophytes  /  Crop yield  /  Intercropping  /  Soil quality assessment