Abstract
Species richness and composition in plant communities change with altitude. Currently, species are facing challenges caused by several drivers of global changes, such as climate change and land use change, which may alter their distribution patterns. Novel ecosystems imposed by anthropogenic activities pose new contexts for evaluating classic ecological hypotheses. In this study, I evaluated the distributional patterns of plant species along an elevational gradient in sites under different land uses in a dry mountainous region. Specifically, I registered species richness and composition of plant communities. Total number of plant species significantly varied among altitudes, registering a peak at mid-elevations. Exotic and native species registered a peak at mid-elevations and cultivated species decreased with altitude. Moreover, the number of species grouped per growth form varied with altitude depending on the growth form considered. As expected, plant species distribution followed a humped pattern in the dry mountainous region studied, and land usesimpacted on the composition of plant communities. In this context, private lands offer an excellent opportunity for developing conservation projects. I recommend the maintenance of areas with native vegetation and the designing of home gardens using native plants that may ensure the conservation of biodiversity and the associated ecological processes in anthropic modified landscapes.