Liming, China, February 2026
Background to the Liming 2022 project
Between 2022 and 2026, A Tree for You donors supported a four-year agroforestry project with farmers from the Lisu and Naxi ethnic minorities, in the Yunnan region of China. The project enabled the planting of four species of medicinal plants and 19 tree species, including eight fruit tree species with economic value and 11 species with primarily environmental functions. The key objectives of this planting aimed to tackle severe soil erosion, and so help regenerate water resources, enhance local biodiversity, and generate additional income for farmers by selling medicinal plants and the fruit harvested.
Hugely positive outcome for the project supported by A Tree for You
After more than three years of implementation, the project concludes on an extremely positive note.
Since 2022, 5,814 trees have been planted together with 11 farmers, who were supported and trained thanks to funding from A Tree for You’s donors. The latest monitoring of the plantations, in December 2025, shows that 5,203 trees are now in a sustainable condition. This result exceeds the initial target of 5,073 living trees by the project end.
To meet this objective, 424 trees from four species – Chinese white pine, Yunnan pine, Lijiang violet spruce, and ginkgo – were replanted in 2024. These trees benefited from more favourable climatic conditions than those experienced during the early years of the project, which were marked by periods of drought and flooding. As a result, plantation development has proved highly satisfactory.
Among the trees in a sustainable condition, 130 are Yunnan Torreya, a local species threatened with extinction. Including it in the project reflects a strong commitment to preserving local plant heritage. However, the number of trees planted was limited, since species selection was carried out in consultation with each farmer to ensure long-term establishment and appropriate management on their agricultural plots.
At the same time, the farmers are continuing to grow and maintain the medicinal plants planted in 2021 and 2022.
Monitoring the cover crop trials
Since 2021, a trial to improve soil health has also been running on two very steep agricultural plots (0.17 and 0.28 hectares), together with two farmers involved in the project. This initiative involves establishing cover crops alongside planted trees. The cover crops, mainly peas and alfalfa, are grown for part of the year and rotated with crops such as beans, maize, and, occasionally, tobacco in 2025.
The objective has been to improve soil pH balance, increase the availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and enhance organic matter content of the soil. After four cycles of cover crop establishment, the results show constrasting trends. Levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium increased then decreased, mainly due to three factors:
- variations in the application of additional fertilisers from year to year,
- the influence of crops grown prior to soil analysis, and
- the gradual incorporation of nutrients into microbial biomass and soil organic matter, reducing their availability measured in 2025.
By contrast, the soil analysis reveal extremely positive, stable, and robust results for organic matter, indicating a lasting improvement in soil quality. Soil pH has also stabilised at a value close to 7, which is considered optimal.
Conclusion
Despite challenging climatic conditions, marked by severe droughts and other extreme events, the project exceeded its final objective. This success was down to rigorous monitoring and the replanting of more than 400 trees that failed to survive the initial planting phase. The project was very well received by the participating farmers. Building on these results, the local partner PUR will continue to implement new agroforestry projects in this region of Yunnan, drawing on the lessons learned from this successful experience.
