## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Study Area  
All four inhabited islands of the Galapagos, Santa Cruz (\(-\)90.36387, \(-\)0.62881), San Cristobal \(-\)0.88422, \(-\)89.49595), Isabela (\(-\)0.80732, \(-\)91.01344), Floreana (\(-\)1.30986, \(-\)90.43528), have a zone in the humid highlands that has been designated for agricultural use (Figure 1). This region extends from what is commonly known as the \"transition zone\" at about 200 masl to some of the highest points of the islands (\(-\)700 masl). To define the study area, we created a 1 km buffer around the designated agricultural zone of each inhabited island. The buffer was included in the present mapping campaign to take into account the constant flow of people, animals, and plants across the boundary that separates the agricultural areas and the GNP [30]. The agricultural regions of the Galapagos face the south or windward side of the islands, which receive high levels of precipitation (813 mm mean annual precipitation) during the warm season (January-May) and remain enveloped in clouds during the cool season (June-December) [31]. The agricultural zones are within the humid highlands of the Galapagos, and in comparison to the lowlands, they receive nearly three times as much rain, present higher overall humidity (85-93% mean relative humidity, about 5% higher than the lowlands), lower average temperatures (16-20 \({}^{\circ}\)C mean minimum temperature, about 2 \({}^{\circ}\)C lower than the lowlands) and lower solar radiation (1-6 mean daily sunshine hours, about 2 h less than in the lowlands) throughout the year [32]. The humid highlands also record higher plant diversity when compared to the dryer lowland ecosystems of the Galapagos [31]. The severe seasonal temperature and precipitation fluctuations of highland areas have gradually weathered the islands' volcanic rocks, creating a patchwork of nutrient-rich soils of variable depths and textures that can grow both tropical-weather crops and temperate-weather crops [33]. The greater primary productivity and diversity, combined with different edaphic conditions, have resulted in the formation of unique ecosystems that present distinct plant assemblages in comparison to the lower elevation arid areas [34]. Likewise, the unique conditions of the humid highlands harbor endemic plant species that present particular adaptations and biological mechanisms that are important to maintaining the ecological processes that characterize these ecosystems [35; 36]. Such environmental uniqueness motivates prioritizing these areas for conservation within the renowned Galapagos archipelago [35; 37; 38]. Inhabitants of the highlands of the Galapagos devote their land to three general activities: cattle ranching, crop production, and tourism activities. According to the 2014 agricultural census, pastures cover nearly 60% of the land surface area of Galapagos agroecosystems, either cultivated or naturally germinated. A commonly grown variety is elephant grass (_Pennisetumpurpureum_), which is used as cattle feed but is also considered invasive [39]. Pastures for cattle forage are often combined with forestry practices for tree crops or timber products, an agroecological practice known as silvopasture [36]. Tree crop varieties used in silvopastures often include lemon (_Citrus_ spp.) or guava (_Psidium guajava_); _P. guajava_ is also considered highly invasive. The most common transitory (annual) crops include maize, manioc, watermelon, and tomatoes, but these are reported to represent only about 1% of the surface area [40]. The most common permanent (perennial) crops are tree crops, such as coffee, banana, and plantain, but also pineapple and sugar cane. Reportedly, permanent crops cover about 8% of the surface area. Landowners reported that most permanent and transitory crops are grown as monocultures [41]. Pioneer (non-invasive but fast-growing) and forest species are reported to cover about 22% of the surface area, while invasive species (e.g., _P. guajava_, _R. niveus_, _C.