Abstract: The relationship between biodiversity and productivity is the hot topic to discuss in recent ecological literatures. In this paper, the authors briefly introduced the effects and mechanisms of biodiversity on ecological function, such as sampling effect, niche complementarity, insurance effect, redundancy and edge effect while the main viewpoints on the relationship between biodiversity and productivity were reported. We also summarized the present research situations on biodiversity and the relationship between biodiversity and ecological function in the artifical plantation ecosystem. Meanwhile, the effects of management practices, such as choice of tree species, site preparation, planting density, thinning, agroforestry and rotation length, on biodiversity in the plantation ecosystem were discussed with emphasis. The artifical plantation biodiversity depends mainly on the establishment and regulation of stand structures, and any management practices that could control the stand structures of plantation. Therefore, how to establish and regulate the stand structure of the plantation which could maintain a suitable biodiversity is a key factor to keep the long-term productivity and sustainable management of the plantations. Furthermore, the further research outlines on the relationship between biodiversity and biomass productivity in the plantation ecosystem were also proposed in the paper in order to provide some references for sustainable management of plantations in China.

Key words: plantation, biodiversity, biomass productivity, ecological function, management practice, sustainable management