Abstract
The correlation between vegetation patterns (species distribution and richness) and altitudinal variation has been widely reported for tropical forests, thereby providing theoretical basis for biodiversity conservation. However, this relationship may have been oversimplified, as many other factors may influence vegetation patterns, such as distur- bances, topography and geographic distance. Considering these other factors, our primary question was: is there a vegetation pattern associated with substantial altitudinal variation (10-1,093 m a.s.l.) in the Atlantic Rainforest—a top hotspot for biodiversity conserva- tion—and, if so, what are the main factors driving this pattern? We addressed this question by sampling 11 1-ha plots, applying multivariate methods, correlations and variance par- titioning. The Restinga (forest on sandbanks along the coastal plains of Brazil) and a lowland area that was selectively logged 40 years ago were floristically isolated from the other plots. The maximum species richness ((200 spp. per hectare) occurred at
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