Abstract: A five—year’s study was carried out at Huitong county，southwest Hunan Provice．The results showed that once the young stand established，its ecological restoration start-ed．The restoration of runoff and that of maximum flood discharge in the one—year—old young stand was 9％ and 6％ of that in the mature stand respectively，while those in the four—year—old young stand reached to 44％ and 19％，respectively．The occurrence of artificial disturbance and precipitation could change the ecological restoration speed in young stands．Other factors，such as the height distribution，the root distribution,and the water storage capacity of litter in the stand,as well as vegetation restoration，could regulate the runoff．In subtropical zone，the full ecological restoration in the second gen-eration of Chinese fir，afforested after clear cutting of the first generation，will take more than 10 years．

Key words: The Second generation of Chinese fir, Runoff, Ecological restoration