During meiosis, segments of nonsister chromatids can trade places. this recombination of maternal and paternal genetic material is a key feature of meiosis. during what phase of meiosis does recombination occur?

This happens during prophase I.
Meiosis is the process of cell division which results in the formation of four haploid cells. These haploid cells, called gametes, have only half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell. Meiosis has two major phases; meiosis I and II. Meiosis I is separated into prophase I, metaphase I, anaphase I and telophase I. During prophase I, chromosomes are aligned and paired up. However, in this phase, chromosomes tend to trade and exchange part of their DNA. This recombination is also called crossing over.