Due to the instability of the artificial-natural complex ecosystems and the complexity of the preservation environment, rock-soil relics have long been threatened by biotic and abiotic factors. The effects of plants on heritage sites and their protection applications have always attracted much attention. In the summary of relevant research results, it is found that the new on-site protection technology based on plants has advantages such as going green, sustainability and environmental compatibility, environmental protection and easy implementation, and has gradually become an alternative to engineering rescue protection measures for the protection of rammed earth sites. However, the mechanisms of the effects of plants on rock-soil relics are still insufficiently understood and the research technology is limited, with the result that the applications of new technologies of prevention and control lag behind, giving unsatisfactory results. Thus the selection of plant species and their subsequent maintenance on site are difficult, which have made unclear the dialectical relationship between plants and rock-soil relics. In combination with the biological problems faced by cave temples and earthen sites, and in view of the limiting factors for the application of plant protection technologies for sites in arid areas of China, the following perspectives are considered:1) clarification of the damage and protection mechanisms of plants for rock-soil cultural relics; 2) establishment of a scientific evaluation system to define the positive and negative effects of plants on geotechnical relics in different environments; 3) definition of the interaction between plants within and between species and the key factors driving plants to build on the surface of geotechnical relics; 4) combination of global climate changes to research and develop precise prevention and control technologies for plants harmful to rock and soil cultural relics; 5) screening suitable soft cover plant species and evaluating their protective effects and 6) development of soft capping technology based on BSC, and carrying out assessments of environmental adaptability and protective effects.