Results/Conclusions . A. kotschoubeyanus have an aggregated distribution (Ia= 2.114) with patches in areas lacking vegetation cover. The dominant shrub species also have aggregated distributions. A. kotschoubeyanus was positively associated with two creeping plants Tiquilia sp (X=0.379, P<0.0001) and Opuntia meijmeri (X=0.2753, P P<0.0001), and was negatively associated with shrubs that exhibited high importance value (IV) and canopies that offered buffered environmental conditions such as Karwinskia humboldtiana (X=-0.1948, P<0.9803), Calanticaria bicolor (X=-0.2568, P<0.9982). The remaining shrub species showed the same negative association pattern with the cacti, which lead us to reject any nursing interaction with the vegetation. Apparently soil rocks are the main factor altering the local microclimate, facilitating the establishment of A. kotschoubeyanus.