<p>Exploring the relationships between species spatial distribution and topographic and biological factors is essential for revealing the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of species diversity. Here, 10 dominant tree species within a 25-ha forest plot in the Kunyu Mountains of eastern China were selected to identify the patterns of habitat associations and explore the potential determinants of tree distribution across different life stages. Multivariate regression tree analysis was used to classify the forest plots into three distinct habitat types. Eight out of the ten species had a significant association with at least one habitat, and six species showed distinct habitat preferences across different life stages. Partial correlation analysis revealed that elevation was the most important factor influencing the distribution pattern of tree species. Furthermore, compared with topographic variables, biological variables explained a greater proportion of the overall variation in tree abundance. However, the relative explanatory power of these factors varied across different life stages. Specifically, pure topographic and biological factors explained 7% and 18% of the overall variation in tree abundance for adult trees, respectively, whereas for juvenile trees, they accounted for 6% and 24% of the variation, respectively. These findings suggest that, as trees transition from the juvenile stage to the adult stage, the limiting effect of topographic variables on tree distribution increases, whereas the limiting effect of biological variables decreases. Therefore, accounting for ontogenetic shifts in the relative importance of environmental drivers can enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of biodiversity.</p>