Tree planting is a common strategy for forest restoration. The use of mid- and late-successional species is less common, but could accelerate succession, enhance diversity and secure their presence. In this study, we determined the survival and growth of 559 saplings from nine native mid- and late-successional species after three years of growth under a range of habitat conditions to evaluate their potential utility in restoration plantings. Since mid- and late-successional tree species have shade-tolerant attributes and the light environment is a determinant factor for their growth and survival, we expected sapling performance to vary among species depending on the percentage of canopy cover and on factors associated with this variable. For this, we identified habitat conditions that influenced sapling performance in a degraded tropical cloud forest: the conditions ranged from closed-canopy secondary forest to open pastures dominated by exotic grasses. Overall, the studied species presented a high performance: sapling survival (40 to 90%) and relative growth rates in height (0.14 to 0.50 cm cm⁻¹ year⁻¹) and in diameter (0.04 to 0.50 mm mm⁻¹ year⁻¹) were within or above the ranges previously reported for cloud forest species. The final sizes and growth rates in height and diameter were mostly explained by the canopy and grass cover (71.5% of the variation). Integrated Response Index (IRI) values showed wide variation among species (from 6.44 to 41.41 with inclusion of height, and from 2.13 to 44.77 with inclusion of diameter). In general, there was a negative correlation between canopy cover and final sapling size and growth rates in height and diameter, but there were important variations among species. Based on their IRI values, species such as Ulmus mexicana and Oreomunnea mexicana are suggested for restoration plantings. Given their low performance, however, Fraxinu uhdei and Juglans pyriformis are recommended for use only in advanced forest successional stages or in conjunction with other restoration techniques to increase their survival. Our results show that these threatened mid- and late-successional native species can be successfully matched to microsite conditions and established in degraded areas as a strategy by which to secure their presence and accelerate forest recovery.

植树是森林恢复的常见策略。中，后期成功种的使用不那么普遍，但是可以加速演替，增强多样性并确保它们的存在。在这项研究中，我们确定了九种本地中，后期成功种的559棵树苗在一系列生境条件下生长三年后的存活和生长，以评估其在恢复种植中的潜在效用。由于中晚期成功树种具有耐荫性，并且光照环境是其生长和生存的决定性因素，因此我们预计树苗的性能会因树冠覆盖率和与此变量相关的因素而有所不同。 。为了这，我们确定了在退化的热带云林中影响幼树生长的栖息地条件：条件从密闭的次生林到以异国草为主的开阔牧场。总体而言，所研究的物种具有较高的表现：幼树存活率（40％至90％）和身高相对增长率（0.14至0.50 cm cm^-1 年^-1）和直径（0.04至0.50毫米mm - ¹ 年^-1）在先前报道的云林物种范围内或之上。最终尺寸以及高度和直径的增长率主要由树冠和草覆盖层解释（变化的71.5％）。综合响应指数（IRI）值显示物种间差异很大（包括高度在内，从6.44至41.41；包括直径在内，从2.13至44.77）。一般而言，树冠覆盖度与最终树苗的大小以及高度和直径的生长率之间呈负相关，但物种之间存在重要的差异。根据其IRI值，可发现墨西哥榆和榆建议用于恢复种植。但是，鉴于其性能低下，建议仅将Fraxinu uhdei和Juglans pyriformis仅用于高级森林演替阶段，或与其他恢复技术结合使用以提高其生存率。我们的结果表明，这些受威胁的成功中期和后期成功本地物种可以成功地与微场所条件相匹配，并可以在退化地区建立，以此作为确保它们的存在并加速森林恢复的一种策略。