Abstract: The hilly area in the central part of the Sichuan province is one of the most important region for construction of the protective forest systems in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The vegetation dynamics of a young Alnus cremastogyne and Cupressus funebris woodland with sown herbage on the bare hills in the region was investigated. The results showed that the coverage and biomass of the understorey herbage communities increased simultaneously with the growth of the young trees. The restoration of the vegetation in the hilly area could be accelerated by planting trees together with sowing herbage.