Revegetation of subarctic boreal mine sites is often limited by soil moisture and extreme climatic conditions, emphasizing the importance of cost-effective, scalable strategies that facilitate the natural recolonization of boreal plant species by improving growing conditions across disturbed landscapes. This study aimed to i) assess how vertical structure type (i.e., abiotic snow fences vs. biotic Alnus viridis and Dryas integrifolia hedgerows), their height, and the distance from structure influence early naturally recolonizing species, and ii) explore how site conditions (i.e. soil volumetric water content (VWC), soil temperature, bulk density, soil texture, soil organic matter, and nutrients) and microtopography influence early plant community composition on mine overburden in central Yukon Territory, Canada. Early response of natural plant recolonization to vertical structures was limited; however, cover and evenness were higher immediately behind abiotic structures at plots one times the structure's height, consistent with locations where higher VWC was detected. Cover, diversity, richness and evenness varied across our site with community composition influenced by VWC, temperature, and gradients in overburden texture and nutrients. Microtopography also significantly influenced the distribution of boreal species. Three years after reclamation, naturally recolonizing vegetation showed only partial site recovery, with ruderal species (i.e., Elymus trachycaulus, Crepis tectorum, Hordeum jubatum and Boechera spp.) dominating the community. Our findings highlight the need for careful vertical structure design (i.e., height, porosity and orientation) and the importance of considering overburden characteristics and microtopography, which appear to exert a stronger influence than vertical structures on initial natural recolonization in semi-arid subarctic mine reclamation.