This research uses three consecutive approaches to evaluate the links among morphological diversity and ecosystem processes of 65 tree species commonly found in Central American active pasturelands (AP) under conventional management practices. Firstly, we explore tree morphological diversity measuring 17 plant traits (PT) to describe the functional strategies (FS) of tree species in agricultural lands. Secondly, we explore tree responses to anthropogenic disturbances like conventional pasture management testing the relationships of tree morphological diversity with tree abundances and exploring their relative utility to predict tree natural regeneration capacity (CNR) in agricultural lands. Thirdly, we test whether tree species variability in litter quality, decomposition rates and nutrient releases was related with tree morphological diversity and tree abundances to explore the effects of tree characteristics on litter decomposition. This approximation allows exploring for the first time the effects of tree variability on ecosystems processes in anthropogenic environments and the possible effects of actual management over today and future provision of ecosystem services (ES) such as soil fertility replenishment and nutrient cycling offered by trees outside the remnant tropical forests. Tree functional strategies (TFS) were described as particular combination of PTs strongly related to four main trait dimensions i.e. Leaf Economy Spectrum (LES), stem density, canopy height and reproductive variability spectrums. Measured leaf traits were leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, total carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen leaf content, foliar tensile strength. Whole plant traits included wood density, maximum tree hight and leaf phenology while measured tree reproductive traits were fruit and seed mass, volume, shape and dispersal mode. Tree abundances at three different developmental stages were surveyed once for 7θ tree species in nested plots on 4θ APs: adult tree (dbh ≥ 10 cm) in one hectare plot, saplings (dbh ≤ 10 but more than 30 cm height) and seedlings (lower than 30 cm height). A decomposition experiment with litterbags under standard environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) was established during four months for litter of 37 tree species to obtain overall (B5), partial (B4) and monthly litter decay rates (b1, b2, b3, b4). Total macronutrients (C, P, N) and C fractions contents (SOL, HEM, CELL and LIG) were measured on fresh and decomposed litter to measure the percentage of nutrient released during litterbags incubation. Multidimensional relationships among PTs were analyzed using principal components analyses (PCA). Paired relationships among PTs, tree abundances, litter quality, decomposition rates and nutrient releases were analyzed using Spearman Correlation Analyses (CA) for quantitative variables and Logistic Regressions (LoRe) for categorical ones. PT and tree abundances capacity to predict tree natural regeneration was addressed using Multiple Regressions (MR) with Stepwise elimination method. We found that tree species in APs have wide variability of leaf, reproductive and whole plant traits with leaf variability strongly associated with other plant traits dimensions. LES (conservative vs acquisitive) is strongly correlated with the Stem and Phenology Spectrum (SPS). A novel Reproductive Investment Spectrum (RIS) splitting apart tree species with bigger and heavier fruits and seeds from those with small and lighter ones (expensive vs cheap), was correlated to both LES and SPS. Resulting holistic plant trait associations were complex showing five main ordination axes explaining between 10 to 20% of tree species variability, without showing any tendency to form tightly-defined “functional groups”. Resulted dispersal modes provided good examples of tree strategies that split species’ traits variability with particular combinations of whole plant, leaf and reproductive traits. All PTs are correlated with both tree species abundances and CNR in APs. Some successful PTs at seedlings and saplings stages were different from successful PTs in adult tree cover. Species with denser woods, P rich leaves and expensive seeds have more sapling abundances meanwhile species with C and N rich leaves have more abundant seedlings. Tree species dispersed by cattle were abundant as seedlings and saplings while those dispersed by local fauna were limited in all developmental stages. Adult tree abundances were strongest predictors of tree seedlings and saplings abundances in AP and together with PTs explain a higher proportion of species abundance variability (60 - 67%). We expand actual knowledge of the afterlife effect of leaf traits to decomposition dynamics, carbon and nutrient cycling stating that tree species with acquisitive leaves decompose faster and release more N, P, C , SOL and HEM than more conservative species. In addition to leaf traits, also stem and reproductive traits are related with differences in litter quality, decomposition rates and macronutrients releases during decomposition, thus linking the afterlife effect of leaf traits directly with tree natural regeneration capacity. The multidimensional FS observed in APs suggest that loss of any particular tree characteristic could affect different ES offered by actual tree cover remaining in tropical agricultural lands. The significant relationships among PTs and tree abundances show that some PTs favor tree CNR after land use change meanwhile other PTs are associated to species with limited CNR. The significant relationships we found among decomposition rates with PTs and CNR suggest that more abundant trees tend to have faster decomposition rates while less abundant tree species tend to present slow leaf-decomposition rates. These findings indicate that plant characteristics and tree natural regeneration are linked with ecosystem processes such as litter decomposition which has direct implications for important sustainability factors in agricultural systems such as nutrient and carbon cycling. Actual tree functional diversity and the capacity to provide ES under current management practices in APs will possibly decrease as a consequence of loss of some trees with particular PTs and the limited CNR. Conventional pastures management (i.e. reduction of tree cover) will probably reduce future tree cover diversity by eliminating those species which cannot naturally regenerate in active pastures, slowing tree litter decomposition rates and reducing the rates of nutrient releases, with impacts on actual and future capacity to provide these ecosystem services. This link between plant characteristics and ecosystem processes is particularly important to improve actual management practices aiming to promote the sustainability of agro ecosystems. This is especially relevant for the management of highly-diverse tropical lands where the effects of forest fragmentation by land use change to agricultural systems on ecosystem services has been understudied.