Abstract Tropical montane cloud forest landscapes are changing, and forest conversion to other land uses is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Land use intensification can lead to significant losses in biodiversity and carbon storage (C); however, the impacts may vary greatly depending on land use type, management practices, and environmental context. We investigated how biodiversity and C are related along a gradient of land use intensification characterized by four dominant land uses in the upper part of Antigua River watershed, Mexico. The land uses were montane cloud forest, secondary forest, and traditional and intensive shade coffee plantations. We determined tree species composition, diversity, ecosystem structure, wood density and C content in dominant tree species to assess aboveground biomass (AGB) and C storage within eight study sites across the land use intensity gradient. A total of 83 tree species was recorded. A canonical correspondence analysis indicated that land uses are separated by particular tree species assemblages. Forests had higher basal area, density, and biomass than coffee plantations, however, the traditional shade coffee plantation had values similar to secondary forest. Calculating C using the standard estimate of 50% of AGB resulted in an overestimation of stored C by 5.8 to 4.1% compared to calculations based on actual measurements. Carbon storage in AGB and biodiversity were strongly and positively related across the land use intensity gradient, although the distinction between the two different intensities of coffee plantation management was not consistently as clear as we had expected. Carbon was highest in forest, but secondary forests and traditional shade coffee plantation had similar C, while intensive coffee had the lowest C content. These results highlight the importance of considering the potential of low intensity land uses such as traditional coffee plantations to mitigate biodiversity loss and preserve ecosystem functions as part of conservation efforts.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥热带山地森林流域的生物多样性和碳储存沿土地利用强度梯度相关

摘要 热带山地云雾森林景观正在发生变化，森林向其他土地用途的转变是生物多样性丧失的主要驱动因素。土地利用集约化可能导致生物多样性和碳储存的重大损失（C）；然而，影响可能因土地使用类型、管理实践和环境背景而有很大差异。我们调查了生物多样性和 C 如何沿着土地利用集约化的梯度相关联，该梯度以墨西哥安提瓜河流域上游的四种主要土地利用为特征。土地利用是山地云雾林、次生林和传统和密集的遮荫咖啡种植园。我们确定了树种组成、多样性、生态系统结构、主要树种的木材密度和碳含量，以评估整个土地利用强度梯度的八个研究地点的地上生物量 (AGB) 和碳储量。共记录了83种树种。典型对应分析表明土地利用被特定的树种组合分开。森林的基面积、密度和生物量高于咖啡种植园，然而，传统的遮荫咖啡种植园具有与次生林相似的价值。与基于实际测量的计算相比，使用 AGB 的 50% 的标准估计值计算 C 导致对存储的 C 高估 5.8 至 4.1%。AGB 中的碳储存和生物多样性在整个土地利用强度梯度上呈强正相关，尽管两种不同强度的咖啡种植园管理之间的区别并不像我们预期的那样清晰。森林中的碳含量最高，但次生林和传统遮荫咖啡种植园的碳含量相似，而密集型咖啡的碳含量最低。这些结果强调了考虑低强度土地利用（例如传统咖啡种植园）的潜力以减轻生物多样性丧失和保护生态系统功能的重要性，作为保护工作的一部分。