The potato, maize monoculture and potato intercropped with maize with 3∶2 as the ratio of the strip were selected as the research object. The relationship between soil properties and the change of soil microbial community function and structure and yield effect were analyzed in order to establish a scientific intercropping pattern and provide a theoretical basis for relieving potato continuous cropping obstacles in south mountain areas of Ningxia.

　　To reveal the relationship between crops and the effects of planting patterns on soil, potato continuous monoculture system for three years were selected as the control, the phospholipids fatty acid (PLFA) and community level physiological profiles of Eco-plate technique were used to study the composition and the functional diversity of soil microbial communities, crop yield advantage were also discussed in the monoculture and intercropping system. The strip-intercropping system with 3∶2 potato and maize, the monoculture of maize were selected as treatment, the change of soil nutrient content, soil microbial community structure, function and potato yield were separately studied.

　　The results showed that potato intercropped with maize had significant influence on the soil physical-chemical properties, the total number of soil microbial communities was enhanced and the proportion of bacteria in soil microbial communities was increased. The biomass of bacteria, actinomyces and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi marked by phospholipid fatty acid were increased greatly and respectively by 5.56%, 11.08% and 18.08% compared with the control. The ratio of fungus biomass to bacteria biomass were decreased, the soil type were promoted and gradually changed from bacteria type to fungi type, the metabolic activity of soil microbial communities were also increased, especially for soil microbial community utilized the carboxylic acids, the polymer and the amines compounds as the carbon source. The structure of soil microbial communities was evidently affected by soil nutrient content and the increasing of soil organic matter content can enhance the number of actinomycetes population. Potato have the weaker competitiveness compared with the maize in intercropping system and the maize yield in the intercropping system were increased, however, the potato yields were decreased, compared with the maize yield in monoculture system. The crop yields in the intercropping system obviously have the correlationship between the crop species and species characteristics.

　　It is concluded that rational intercropping contribute to increase soil bacteria population, enrich soil microbial community structure and enhance the ability of microbial community function diversity and the ability of carbon source utilization. The soil microbial communities structure and functional diversity, soil environment were changed by crop planting patterns, significantly.