In order to explore the soil water conservation function of abandoned rare earth mining area in southern Jiangxi

the water storage function of litter and soil layer of the mining site were studied through the ring knife method. The results showed that the average soil water content of 0-30 cm soil layer in different mining sites followed the order of natural forest land (180.37 g/kg) > stacked ground (170.67 g/kg) > mining land (86.36 g/kg). The average value of soil bulk density followed the order of stacked ground (1.54 g/cm3) > mining land (1.31 g/cm3) > natural forest land (1.20 g/cm3). The average value of soil capillary porosity followed the order of natural forest land (44.08%) > stacked ground (37.89%) > mining land (35.82%). The average value of soil capillary storage followed the order of natural forest land (440.77 t/hm2) > stacked ground (378.94 t/hm2) > mining land (358.20 t/hm2). The trend of soil maximum water storage was similar to that of soil capillary storage. The natural forest land had the strongest water conservation capacity among the different mining sites

and the water storage capacity per unit area was (561.34±44.32) t/hm2

and that in the mining area was the worst with the value of (431.65±53.66) t/hm2. The water conservation of natural forest land was stronger than that of other mining sites

and the mining operations in the rare earth mining area had a great influence on the water storage of litter and soil layer.