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The recovery of vegetation cover is a process that has important implications for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Generally, the recovery of vegetation cover is documented over large areas using remote sensing, and it is often assumed that ecosystem properties and processes recover along with remotely sensed canopy cover. Here we analyze and compare the structure, composition, and diversity of trees and shrubs among plots established in a stratified random sampling design over four remotely sensed canopy cover change (CCC) categories defined according to a gradient in the percent of canopy cover. Plots were located in the Lake Cuitzeo basin (Mexico), where canopy recovery associated with agricultural abandonment has occurred in recent decades (1975-2000). We found that diversity measures, basal area, tree and shrub density, ground-truthed canopy cover, and mean plant height increased with increasing CCC category. However, Shannon index (H’) was lower in the CCC category with the most closed canopy cover category than in plots apparently not affected by agriculture. Furthermore, ordination analyses showed that composition of dominant species were not associated with CCC categories. Our results suggest that canopy closure in our study area is not associated with the recovery of species diversity, and does not result in similar species dominance as in sites not affected by agriculture.