Mining is historically the backbone of China’s national economy, providing essential resources for various industries. However, it also results in ecological disturbances and land degradation, posing significant environmental challenges such as air and water pollution, soil erosion, habitat destruction, and the release of harmful chemicals into the environment [
1,
2]. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China, mining has impacted up to 3.87 × 10
4 km
2 of land area, 5.38 × 10
4 km
2 of groundwater aquifer, and the total waste disposal has increased to 4 × 10
10 tons. The annual wastewater discharge is approximately 4.7 × 10
9 m
3, and the mining-affected land area continues to increase by 330–470 km
2 per year in China. Mining has also destroyed 1.06 × 10
4 km
2 of forest area and 2.63 × 10
4 km
2 of grassland area in China.
Coal, accounting for approximately 60% of China’s total energy consumption, is a major focus of mining activities. The environmental impacts of coal production, particularly in semi-arid and ecologically fragile areas like northwestern China, are substantial. For instance, the transformation of surface topography, the destruction of surface vegetation, water and soil loss, ground fissures, groundwater/surface water loss/shortage and pollution, cropland destruction, ecosystem degradation, etc. The top layer of soil is a delicate and intricate ecosystem. It is not usually saved beforehand and is damaged during coal mining. Mining reduces soil water content, cohesion, and organic matter [
3]. The abandoned coal mining areas are usually infertile and have poor moisture, air, and temperature conditions, low content of organic matter, and a poor preservation capacity of soil moisture, and are therefore vulnerable to drought [
4,
5]. To address adverse impacts and enhance the optimization of mineral resource development, China has achieved notable progress in advancing green mining techniques. These techniques prioritize the sustainable extraction of resources while mitigating the effects on the ecosystem and surrounding communities. The key green mining techniques encompass various approaches, such as backfilling mining, where mined-out areas are refilled with waste materials. Additionally, strip mining is employed, involving the removal of layers of soil and rock to access coal seams near the surface. One notable innovation is the practice of coal and coalbed methane co-extraction. Simultaneously extracting coal and coalbed methane and utilizing methane as an alternative energy source reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increasing overall mining efficiency. Furthermore, implementing a technical system of underground reservoirs has proven beneficial. This system effectively manages underground water within the coalmine, preventing water seepage, controlling water flow, and mitigating potential water-related hazards [
6].
The reclamation of mine-degraded land is a crucial aspect of green mining [
7]. In this context, ecological restoration is an effective approach to realizing this goal [
8,
9,
10]. Ecological restoration aims to bring back the site characteristics such as land stability, vegetation, soil fertility, biodiversity, hydrological cycle, and overall land productivity. To this end, vegetation establishment and soil amendment are viable means. The former involves planting trees, shrubs, and grasses to improve soil cover, reduce erosion, and provide food and habitat for wildlife. The latter entails adding organic matter, nutrients, and other amendments to the soil to improve its fertility and structure. Land restoration becomes feasible by establishing a diverse pioneer plant community that evolves into a natural ecological system and utilizing biological elements to enrich soil nutrients in abandoned lands. Revegetation with suitable landscape plants offers significant benefits [
11,
12]. Notably, it mitigates geological hazards, such as cave-ins, landslides, and debris flows. Moreover, this process contributes to water and soil conservation by cleaning up the water and soil in the mining area, absorbing various toxic elements. Additionally, it plays a vital role in air purification by absorbing dust and sulfur dioxide. Lastly, the green coverage of the mining area enhances and revitalizes the overall environmental aesthetics, transforming the mine site into a visually appealing and sustainable landscape. Certain landscape plants, such as Sea buckthorn,
Ulmus pumila,
Amorpha fruticosa,
Robinia pseudoacacia,
Dittrichia viscosa, and others, can afforest the abandoned mining areas by increasing soil organic matter nutrients and improving soil chemical and physical properties, allowing recovery of surface soil. Generally, the plant species should have the ability to grow in dry and infertile soil conditions and develop vegetation cover in a short time. Additionally, the plants ought to withstand soil and water erosion, mitigate nutrient loss and water runoff, and enhance the bio-physicochemical properties of the soil. This includes improving microbial biomass and organic matter status, among other relevant factors [
13,
14]. Previous research into using specific plant species for land reclamation and soil development has produced encouraging results. For instance, Ren et al. [
15] demonstrated that revegetation can enhance soil nutrients in an abandoned quarry with weak soil, with
Pinus sylvestris var.
Mongolia showing better performance than
Pinus densiflora var.
ussuriensis for this purpose. Yan [
16] investigated the influences of revegetation on the soil properties in the abandoned open-cast mine area in Northeastern China. Sea buckthorn emerged as the most suitable choice among the various plant species considered due to its positive impact on the soil. Jun et al. [
17] observed that 18-year vegetation restoration promoted the formation of water-stable soil aggregates in an open-cast coalmine dump in the loess area. It was found that a high soil organic matter content and a high soil clay content were beneficial to forming water-stable soil aggregates. Similarly, Zhou et al. [
18] reported that revegetation increased soil organic carbon and improved aggregate structure and water stability in red soil in Yingtan, China. In the west-northern Loess Plateau of China, Zhao et al. [
19] highlighted the positive impact of Sea buckthorn (
Hippophae rhamnoides ssp.
sinensis) on soil aggregation and microbiological development in the reclamation of open-cast mine spoils. Sasmaz et al. [
20] suggested that
Carduus nutans,
Cynoglossum officinale,
Isatis, Phlomis sp.,
Silene compacta, and
Verbascum thapsus could be useful for remediation or phytoremediation of soils polluted by thallium (Tl) in the mining areas. Arshi [
14] emphasized the importance of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal for plant growth in coalmine overburden dumps. For the reclamation of coalmine-degraded land in the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, Eastern India, Mukhopadhyay et al. [
21] suggested
Cassia siamea and
Dalbergia sissoo as suitable tree species for tropical climate. Fu et al. [
22] discovered that the concentration of soil organic carbon is the main driver for the change in both the physical structure and chemical properties of reclaimed mine soil in Inner Mongolia, China. Notably, different plants showcase varying accumulation rates of organic carbon, while the application of organic amendments further enhances soil development. Torroba-Balmori et al. [
23] proposed the use of native colonizer shrubs (
Genista florida and
Cytisus scoparius) as nurse plants to enhance
Quercus petraea and
Quercus pyrenaica reintroduction in reclaimed open-cast coalmines in Northern Spain.
The preceding research provides insight into restoring mine-degraded lands and aids land reclamation planning. However, due to the dry and semi-arid environment in the mining regions, screening plant species for potential application in the reclamation of mine-degraded land continues to be a challenge. The present research fills this knowledge gap by evaluating the effect of vegetation restoration on soil development of coalmine-degraded land and screening plant species appropriate for reclamation in the mining area. In order to achieve the intended goal, six distinct revegetation methods are established for the reclamation of coalmine-degraded land and waste piles in the designated coalmine area. The first method entails the utilization of Ulmus pumila for revegetation. The second method combines Ulmus pumila with Amorpha fruticosa and Robinia pseudoacacia. The third method incorporates a vegetation scheme of Ulmus pumila, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Jerusalem artichoke. The fourth method focuses exclusively on Jerusalem artichoke. The fifth method combines Sea buckthorn with Amorpha fruticosa, while the last method involves a synergistic combination of Ulmus pumila and Amorpha fruticosa. Soil physicochemical analyses were conducted, and multivariate statistics were performed to investigate the impact of plant species on soil in reclaimed coalmine-degraded land. The engineering case for this research was the Hebi No. 10 Mine located in the northern Henan mining region of China. This site has been part of China’s Pilot Mine Reclamation Project since 2014. This research provides insights into effective ecological remediation for mine-degraded lands.