Soil erosion by water is considered to be a dominant erosion process in a hilly-gully Loess Plateau, and leads to land degradation and desertification. Although many researchers have investigated the dynamics of plant community traits and soil properties caused by erosion, the effects of soil property variation on vegetation succession, especially in terms of ecophysiology, on abandoned cultivated land in a hilly-gully Loess Plateau region have received little attention to date. This study investigated Artemisia scoparia, which is one of the dominant species in early abandoned field communities in hilly-gully Loess Plateau. We tried to find the environmental acclimation and succession niche changes for this species. The foliar morphological, anatomical, and physiological characteristics of A. scoparia at three different sites (namely sunny hilly slope, SH; hilltop, HT; shady hilly slope, HH) were investigated. Relationships between foliar plasticity and environmental factors were also examined. The results demonstrate that (1) A. scoparia has special morphological and anatomical characteristics, such as needle-shaped leaves, trichomes, a ring palisade, water storage parenchyma specialized from spongy tissue, and a secretory cavity, that enable it to adapt to semi-arid environments. When the ability of vascular tissue to transport water decreased, C₃ plant leaves exhibit characteristics similar to CAM plants. (2) On the SH and HT sites, which are characterized by dry soil, low air humidity, and strong light intensity, A. scoparia had a smaller leaf area, thicker palisade, denser trichomes, and tighter intercellular air spaces than of those growing on the HH site. Furthermore, obvious differences among site conditions can be observed. However, the redundancy analysis (RDA) results revealed that vascular tissue traits, main vascular bundles, and area ratio of xylem to phloem, have a weak correlation with environmental factors. (3) A. scoparia had a low relative water content (RWC), less chlorophyll, and a high superoxide anion radical content on the SH and HT sites. In contrast, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbic acid (AsA) increased at these sites to clear the reactive oxygen produced by plants. Soluble protein, which shows the osmotic adjustment ability of a plant, had a weaker relationship with environmental factors. (4) Foliar plasticity had a strong relationship with environmental factors, especially with light intensity, soil moisture, and soil organic matter content. These results implied that A. scoparia had strong adaptability to early abandoned sites in a hilly-gully Loess Region that is subject to high light intensities and soil impoverishment without desiccation. (5) Based on the correlations among foliar morphological, anatomical, and physiological characteristics of A. scoparia, the studied parameters, except for vascular tissue traits and soluble protein, were found to be closely related to each other, especially epidermal hair density, stomatal index, and intercellular air spaces. All the above results suggest that A. scoparia is able to adapt to the microclimate and soil conditions present in early abandoned fields due to its foliar anatomical and physiological characteristics. These properties allow A. scoparia to improve its ability to use limited nutrient resources in poor soil environments and to reduce abiotic stresses (including water, light, nutrient, and erosion interference stresses). This means that A. scoparia is able to attain and dominate an extremely wide ecological distribution on early abandoned cultivated land in hilly-gully Loess Plateau regions.