A fundamental question in bryology is to identify what environmental factors influence bryophyte distribution in an ecosystem and how they respond to disturbances. We investigated the distribution of the moss Thuidium urceolatum and species of the liverwort Plagiochila, representing distinct life-forms (wefts and fans), in the Luquillo Forest Dynamic Plot, where the environment and disturbance history is well described. We hypothesized that if the presence of T. urcealutum and Plagiochila spp. are affected by habitat (riparian versus upland) and past land use, then there will be differences in the number and size of bryophyte patches within these areas. Using a combination of plot-level and floristic habitat sampling methods, we recorded the size and number of patches of these bryophytes in four mesohabitats, riparian and upland forest in areas of high and low past land use history. We measured canopy openness for each patch, documented the substrate it was growing on and associated vegetation. The number of patches and mean patch size was not significantly different between sites, except in upland forest with high past agricultural land use, that had fewer and smaller patches of T. urceolatum. The effects of habitat and past land used were not clear for Plagiochila spp. However, the lasting effects of past land use, after more than 80 years of conversion to protected forest, still influence the presence and size of T. urceolatum in upland forest but not in riparian zones. Riparian zones might serve as corridors for expansion of the species. Canopy openness preference was different among mesohabitats and species, the presence of T. urceolatum and Plagiochila spp. could reflect changes in canopy cover associated to recent hurricanes. Other environmental aspects likely influence the presence of these bryophytes, as rocks were the most common substrate and other mosses were the most frequent plants associated with the bryophyte patches. We propose that the observed presence and size of these bryophytes may be responding to the effects of past land use and habitat, combined with recent hurricane events, and are part of changes in plant community composition that can be used to track succession in the forest.