Small-Scale Environmental Drivers of Plant Community Structure and Diversity in Neotropical Montane Cloud Forests Harboring Threatened Magnolia dealbata in Southern Mexico

Gradient analysis was used to determine factors driving small-scale variation of cloud forest communities harboring Magnolia dealbata, a threatened species and bioculturally relevant tree for the Chinantecan, Mazatecan, Nahuan, and Zapotecan ethnicities in southern Mexico. Particularly, we aimed to: (a) determine factors explaining major community gradients at different heterogeneity scales along a small-scale elevational gradient, (b) test the Decreasing and the Continuum hypotheses along elevation, and (c) classify vegetation to assist in identifying conservation priorities. We used a stratified random sampling scheme for 21 woody stands along a small-scale (352 m) elevational transect. Four main data matrices were used (presence-absence, density, basal area, and guild data). Through Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS), Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA), and distance-based Redundancy Analysis (db-RDA), we found that major community variation was explained by soil pH, displaying an outstanding vegetation discontinuity, separating the species-rich relic Oreomunnea-Ticodendron-stands from stands with higher importance values for M. dealbata. The high species richness observed was explained by a combination of the windward effect of dry-seasonal maximum cloud condensation gain and habitat differentiation-specialization, a phenomenon that may also explain the mid-peak hypothesis and ensure the survival of relic species. Sampling-truncation and conservation status also played a role in this. Our results do not support the Decreasing and Continuum hypotheses along elevation.