Abstract: Soil nutrient content and biodiversity were investigated on the iron tailing land to detect impacts of forestation on the nutrient content and biodiversity. The results showed that the iron tailing had much lower contents of organic materials and available N than ordinary soil, and the iron tailing with forestation of Hippophae rhamnoides or Amorpha fruticos had higher contents of the two nutrients than the iron tailing without forestation. The species diversity index (including Simpson index and Shannon-Weiner index) and species richness index of the iron tailing with forestation of Hippophae rhamnoides or Amorpha fruticos were higher than that of the iron tailing without forestation, and the two indexes reached to the level of the nearby natural shrub forest. It was concluded that forestation was able to improve the soil nutrient condition of iron tailing in favor of the settlement of other species invaders, and to increase the species diversity. It would be a feasible way for iron tailings management to introduce the suitable plant species into the droughty and arid iron tailing land to enrich it and raise species diversity gradually.

Key words: iron tailing, forestation, nutrients contents, species diversity