Researchers have extensively studied the effects of human disturbance, such as logging operations, on species richness. Typically the theme is the tree layer, and little is known about understory vegetation [1][2][3][4]. But in fact, understory species accounted for more than 90% of the richness in temperate forest vegetation [5,6], which was the main component of vegetation species diversity in this ecosystem. Although understory biomass is smaller than overstory biomass, the aboveground part of net primary productivity (ANPP) from understory biomass was more than half of the ANPP of the forest canopy in boreal forest vegetation [7]. Therefore, understory vegetation plays an important role in maintaining forest ecosystem structure and function [8].Pol. J. Environ. Stud. Vol. 25, No. 4 (2016), 1749-1757 AbstractCommunity surveys were performed in 30 forest stands with similar conditions under different management types in forests of northeastern China to study the influence of forest management on plant biodiversity. We evaluated this effect by calculating and analyzing species richness, vegetation structure, and aboveground biomass. Large variations in species composition, vegetation structure, species richness, and aboveground biomass were evident among the three types of common management types investigated (cut shrub tending, selective cutting, and understory planting). The species composition of the herb layer changed more than that of the shrub layer, and herbs were more vulnerable to impact from human activities. Each management type reduced the plant coverage, and this was most significant in planted plots. We found that in the cut shrub tending plots, the shrub height increased over time. The mean fresh weight of the control group was about 2 kg·m ). Our results also showed that management types in mixed forest stands strongly impact species diversity and, to some extent, environmental capacity, with negative effects on biodiversity.