Open-pit mining can harm local vegetation, but restoring plants is important for the environment. Scientists studied how different factors affect plant diversity in a large phosphate mine in China. They found that soil pollution had the biggest impact on plants after 2 and 10 years of restoration, while human activity was most influential after 5 years. In areas without restoration, plant nutrients were the key factor. They created a tool to measure restoration success by comparing plant diversity in different areas.