Symplectic Schemes for Birkhoffian System^*

A universal symplectic structure for a Newtonian system including nonconservative cases can be constructed in the framework of Birkhoffian generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics. In this paper the symplectic geometry structure of Birkhoffian system is discussed, then the symplecticity of Birkhoffian phase flow is presented. Based on these properties we give a way to construct symplectic schemes for Birkhoffian systems by using the generating function method.