Three windows for ecological reclamation of high and steep rocky slopes: process control and ecological reconstruction based on temporal matching

High and steep rocky slopes lack continuous soil layers, and their capacities to retain water, substrate and root space are controlled by fractures, structural planes and artificial roughness. This often causes temporal mismatches between excavation and ecological restoration, short-term greening and long-term stability, and completion acceptance and community succession. Based on studies of mine ecological restoration, soil reconstruction on rocky slopes and long-term monitoring, three consecutive windows are proposed: geological-structure reshaping, substrate construction and species configuration, and community-succession regulation. A test section at the Jinduicheng Molybdenum Mine was evaluated by longitudinal comparison before construction, one month after hydroseeding, after the first rainy season and one year after construction; field photographs of conventionally treated or incompletely restored slopes were used only as engineering-background references. After one year, vegetation cover reached 74%, sediment yield decreased by 71.2% relative to the pre-construction value, Surface sample organic matter increased to 12.1 g·kg^-1 and shrub survival was 69%. The preliminary indicators suggest a process connection between microtopography, matrix retention, and the establishment of pioneer communities, but due to the lack of concurrent quantitative controls and subsequent 3-5 year community succession data, it cannot yet be concluded that this scheme has formed a self-maintaining community.The three-window framework is therefore positioned as a temporal diagnostic tool for design, construction, maintenance and monitoring, subject to site-specific adjustment for climate and rock type.