## 3 Results
### Vegetation Cover Abundance and Distribution  
The fact that the areas surrounding the agricultural areas are GNP lands under conservation means that we expected to find a difference in the vegetation covers within and outside the agricultural areas. As expected, we found that most native vegetation is distributed outside the agricultural zone while invasive species dominate the area within the agricultural areas (Figures A1 and A2). However, we also expected to see this pattern due to the long history of agricultural exploitation within the Galapagos. The most aggressive agricultural expansion occurred in San Cristobal from 1879 to 1904 under the rule of [PERSON], and this set the tone for commercial development of agriculture in other islands as well. During this time the highlands of San Cristobal were denuded of native vegetation, _P. guajava_ and avocado trees were brought for pig food, _Syzygium_ trees were imported to provide shade for wool sheep, pastures were introduced for extensive cattle grazing to sell cowhides, up to 3000 ha of sugar cane were planted for sugar and liqueur production and export, and over 100,000 coffee plants covered 110 ha of plantation [88]. In comparison, today, all food crops found in our study area combined barely cover a third of the area that was once covered by sugar cane alone. San Cristobal has the most substantial extensions of _Sygzygium_ trees in the entire archipelago (374 ha), and _P. guajava_ covers 23% of the agricultural area. While agricultural activity as a whole has become a fraction of what the island once supported, the area covered by coffee plantations has increased to 191 ha. Given the level of agricultural exploitation, perhaps what is surprising is that San Cristobal also shows the most amount of native vegetation within its agricultural area, which is likely due in part to the work of the GNP reforesting the areas around El Junco with _Miconia robinsoniana_. Other islands followed similar patterns but at different times. Floreana's first successful inhabitants took residence in the 1930s, and they subsisted by modifying the highlands by knocking down trees, clearing the land, hunting wild cattle, and introducing seeds for crops. For example, the [PERSON] family, who arrived to Floreana in 1937, dedicated their time to agricultural production and cattle ranning. As their family grew, so did their land and the pastures that covered them; because the population was so small (55 people by 1975), life in Floreana was only assured through agricultural production. By 1965, farmers planted entire hectares of individual transitory crops year-round, and they harvested the fruit from citrus trees that grew wild inside and outside of the agricultural areas [88]. These patterns are visible in our results, as there are large areas of land dedicated to cattle production and mixed forest surrounds the agricultural area. We also see evidence of more recent events, such as the spread of _R. niveus_ and _P. guajava_ across the landscape [88]. In Isabela, there was a 900 ha farm called \"La Hacienda\" that was established in 1897 by [PERSON]. [PERSON]'s main economic activity was cattle ranching, and through the 1950s, he captured wild cattle that roamed the pampas of Sierra Negra volcano and exported them to Guayaquil [88,89]. Given that La Hacienda is reported to be relatively near the southeastern border of the present-day agricultural zone, it is entirely possible that the pastures visible to the southwest of the agricultural area are the same areas that were used as cattle hunting grounds by [PERSON]. It would seem unusual that pastures are found outside of the agricultural zone, and the species found in those grasslands remain unconfirmed. We do not have direct verification of the vegetation of this site, but the spectral signature of this region is distinct, and during the development of the land cover map of the GNP [42], park rangers indicated to the authors that these are _Pennisetum_ grasslands, so we categorized this region in the same manner.