植物是地球生態系最基本的生產者，成熟完整的植物社群，提供了生物棲地、生物食源、物質交換及能量流動的良好場所。臺灣地區水土保持目的之植生工程，由早期農地植草開始，漸次發展至道路邊坡植生，以及崩塌地、泥岩等特殊地區之植生試驗研究，近年來並配合生態工法及生物多樣性保育的目標而被廣泛地運用。 植物多樣性的考量應以本地種物為優先選擇對象，並同時考量植生工程規劃設計目標、生物多樣性、植生生育基盤的營造及植生導入作業、植物生長立地條件及生長特性、植物材料供貨狀況及維護管理計畫等原則，選擇適宜之植物材料加以應用。本文初步整合水土保持植物材料、植生工程與特殊地區植生試驗三個領域之研究，文中僅暫就應用植物材料之來源以及植生植物導入作業之生物多樣性兩項主要觀點考量，說明植生材料應用評估之簡易原則，以期未來能建立一套兼具生物多樣性保育與治山防災目的之植生工程準則。

Biodiversity includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystem. It is the fundamental of preservation in ecosystem. Plant is one of the most important components in the ecosystem. A mature plant community creates food source, makes the variable habitats, allows energy flow, and well delivers all the materials inside the ecosystem. It helps the ecosystem works well. In Taiwan, the grass covering on farmland was an initial vegetation engineering practice for soil and water conservation in the early stage. Nowadays, vegetation engineering has been applied on slope land, landslide area, and mudstone site in many different techniques, and especially been cooperated with Ecological Engineering. In order to have successful vegetation engineering and consider about the plant biodiversity, native plants should be the first priority on the selecting list. And the plant materials should be bounded up with design goals, biodiversity, managing plan, and other principles.