Abstract: Vegetation restoration is crucial for the ecological restoration of abandoned mines. To explore the effects of dominant tree species on soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure during the restoration of open-pit mines, we collected soil samples from the rhizosphere of Juniperus formosana, Ligustrum lucidum, and Vernicia fordii in a recovered mine in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. We analyzed the impacts of different plant species on the improvement of soil quality. The results showed that pH of the rhizosphere soil of L. lucidum was the lowest, while soil water content was the highest. Silt soil content was the highest in the rhizosphere soil of J. formosana, with organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen contents being higher than those of L. lucidum and V. fordii. There were no significant differences in acid phosphatase (ACP) activity of rhizosphere soils among the three tree species. The activities of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosidase (NAG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and β-glucosidase in the rhizosphere soil of L. lucidum were significantly higher than those of J. formosana and V. fordii. The dominant fungal phyla in the rhizosphere soils of the three tree species were Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, while the dominant bacterial phyla were Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, and Acidobacteriota. The highest abundance of fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was recorded in the rhizosphere soil of V. fordii, while the highest abundance of bacterial OTUs was recorded in the rhizosphere soil of L. lucidum. In contrast, the lowest abundance of bacterial OTUs and fungal OTUs were found in J. formosana. The Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson indices of bacterial and fungal diversity were the highest in the rhizosphere soil of V. fordii and the lowest in the rhizosphere soil of J. formosana. Soil water content, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus affected bacterial community structure, while organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus affected soil fungal community structure. J. formosana was more conducive to the recovery of soil nutrients. The structure of the microbial community in rhizosphere soils of J. formosana was more stable though the diversity of the microbial community was lower. The specific Pseudomonadota recruited may contribute to soil remediation. V. fordii could recruit more soil microorganisms to improve soil microenvironment. These findings provide a theoretical basis for selecting appropriate tree species during mine revegetation and offer scientific reference for enhancing soil quality during the ecological restoration of mine.

Key words: mine restoration, vegetation restoration, dominant tree species, soil physicochemical property, soil microorganisms