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The extraction of natural resources through mining activities has tremendously increased to maintain the trade‐off between demand and supply of energy resources. Surface mining activities lead to deforestation, displacement of topsoil and overburden rocks, and disposal of huge amounts of waste that depletes ecosystem services. We attempt to summarize the recent advance in the restoration of mine degraded lands and their role in the sustainable management of the post‐mining ecosystem. Selective plantation and application of various soil amendments along with the topsoil potentially enhance the recovery of mine degraded lands. Afforestation of mine degraded lands can generate economic, social, and environmental benefits to mining companies and the regional population. Outcomes of numerous studies have highlighted the need for the selective plantation that demonstrates characters like stress tolerance, climate resilience, and native to the local ecosystem. Besides, it is important to restore the ecosystem in such a way that it can deliver ecosystem services and match the objectives of international policies like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Ahirwal et al. (2020) studied this question.