Agroforestry systems are of growing interest due to their capacities to provide a range of ecosystem services. However, soil quality based on multicriteria approach has, to our knowledge, never been comprehensively assessed in temperate agroforestry systems, especially considering the spatial heterogeneity created by those systems. Our aims were to evaluate if (i) an alley-cropping agroforestry system can lead to spatial gradients of soil quality from the tree row to the middle of the cropped interrow and (ii) soil quality is different between an agroforestry and a conventional plot. The soil was sampled in 7 contiguous areas along a transect from the middle of the interrow on each side of the tree row (13 m in total) in an alley-cropping agroforestry plot and in an adjacent conventional plot at Restinclières (France). We measured physical, chemical and biological indicators such as soil texture, SOC, N and P contents, microbial biomass, activity and microbial community structure. Those indicators were integrated in soil quality indices (SQI). Within the agroforestry plot the biological soil quality occurred to be significantly improved until 2 m from the tree row in the cropped interrow (Fig. 1). The SQI weighted average of the agroforestry plot was significantly higher than the one calculated for the conventional plot. The higher input of organic litters in the agroforestry plot compared to the conventional plot is likely at the origin of this soil quality improvement.