## 2 Materials and Methods
### Preliminary Definition of Land Cover Units
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline
**Category** & **Description** \\ \hline _Cedrela_—Cedar & _Cedrela odorata_, or spanish cedar, is a semi-deciduous tree 10–30 m tall, which outcompetes most other tree species and grows into a dense canopy [46]. \\ _Cinchona_—Quinine & The red _quinine tree_ (_Cinchona pubescens_) is a 15 m broad-leaved evergreen, which was once widespread in Santa Cruz’s _Miconia_ region (\(\sim\)580 masl). [47] \\  & The _Coffea_– and coffee category includes bushes of the arabica or robusta varieties since this is the most important cash crop and the only product that is exported. Coffee is often shade-grown with other tree crops like _Citrus_ or banana (_Musa_ spp.), so this category is limited to what is visible from above [40]. \\ _Cultivated Grass_ & _Cultivated grass_ is a category that groups monocrops of less common cultivated grasses for pasture or landscaping, including grasses of _Brachiara_ or _Paspalum_ genera [40]. \\ _Erythhrina_—Porotillo & _Erythhrina smithiniana_ or porotillo is a shrubby tree of the _Fabaceae_ family, which grows up to \(\sim\)8 m and is commonly planted as stakes along the edges of farms to form ‘living fences’ [12]. \\ _Lantana_–Supirosa & _Lantana camara_ or Supirosa is an ornamental shrub up to 3 m tall that invades a wide variety of habitats, from tropical to temperate regions [48, 49] \\ _Mixed forest_ & _Mixed forest_ is a category describing a forest where there is a mixture of introduced, invasive, or native species, and the dominance of a single species cannot be established [42]. \\ _Permanent Crops_ are those that take over one year to reach productive age, and that can produce for several subsequent years without requiring replanting after each harvest. Some of the most common perennial crops include coffee (_Coffea_ spp.), plantain, banana (_Musa_ spp.), sugar cane (_Sacharum_ spp.), pineapple (_Ananas_ spp.), and orange (_Citrus_ spp.) [40]. The _permanent crops_ category also includes all other perennial or tree crops, such as pineapple (_Ananas_ spp.), sugar cane (_Saccharum_ spp.), or other tree crops, commonly of _Fabaceae_, _Persea_, or _Carica_ genera [40]. \\ _Pennisetum_—Elephant grass & _Pennisetum_ purpureum_ or Elephant grass is the most common type of cultivated grass for cattle fodder and grows tall, robust bamboo-like clumps [40]. \\ _Pemisetum_—Guava & _Psidium guajava_ or guava is a small tree (8 m tall) that has escaped cultivation and become common in mesic forests (\(>\)150 masl) of several of the large islands [50, 51]. \\ _Rubus_—Blackberry & _Rubus niveus_ or blackberry is a widespread thorny shrub that grows in gaps of native vegetation and forms dense thickets up to 4 m high over grasslands, bracken, bush, and forest areas alike [52]. \\ _Silvopasture_ & _Silvopasture_ describes an intentional combination of pasture for cattle grazing and trees, which provide additional fodder for cattle, fruit crops, wood, or shade [53]. \\ _Syzygium_—Pomarrosa & _Syzygium jambos_ or pomarrosa is a small tree (3—15 m) that forms dense thickets and threatens several highland habitats, especially in San Cristobal and Isabela [2]. \\ _Transitory crops_ & _Transitory crops_ are short-cycle crops. Common ones include maize (_Zea_ spp.), cassava (_Manilhot_ spp.), and watermelon (_Citrullus_ spp.) [40]. \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Descriptions of introduced land cover categories.