Strategies of high efficiency water usage promoted by microbial remediation in coal mining areas of western China

The fragile ecological environment in the western coal mining areas of China, compounded by intensive mining activities, has led to water and soil erosion, soil degradation, and damaged root systems. With a low plant water use efficiency, the ecological restoration becomes challenging, making the improvement of water use efficiency a key aspect in the ecological restoration or reconstruction of western mining areas. Soil water is a critical factor limiting the ecological restoration of arid and semi-arid coal mining areas, as it connects atmospheric water, surface water, groundwater, and vegetation growth, serving as an important carrier for water circulation and nutrient transport. Efficient and rational utilization of soil water is crucial to the success of ecological restoration. Therefore, investigating plant root water utilization strategies plays a significant role in the ecological restoration of western coal mining areas. This paper analyzes the main research methods of plant water use at home and abroad, compares the advantages and disadvantages of different methods, and reviews the corresponding research progress. In the damaged ecological environments of arid and semi-arid coal mining areas, the application of plant-microbe combined microbial remediation technology can improve plant water use efficiency and enhance plant water use strategies. At the same time, the microbial inoculation reduces the proportion of water absorption by plants from shallow soil layers, effectively increasing the absorption and utilization of water from deep soil layers by plants, thereby enhancing plant water use efficiency. This enables the inoculated plants to exhibit a higher ecological adaptability in the arid and semi-arid coal mining areas. This paper analyzes the current research progress and existing problems of plant water use in the western coal mining areas, discusses the improvement of water use strategies through microbial remediation in mining areas, and proposes the impact of different plant combinations on water use strategies and their research focuses in the ecological restoration of western arid coal mining areas. This lays a solid foundation for achieving green, sustainable, and high-quality development in the arid and semi-arid coal mining areas, and has important ecological application value.