We classified vegetation plots from each study according to their position on a forest–agriculture matrix gradient, as well as whether they were found in continuous or fragmented forests (Fig. 1). The forest–agriculture matrix gradient was divided into five categories: (i) interior – entirely within forest; (ii) interior–edge – combination of forest and edge habitats; (iii) interior–edge-matrix – combination of interior forests, edge and matrix habitats; (iv) edge-matrix – combination of edge and matrix habitats;and (v) matrix – entirely within non-forest. Forest and nonforest classes were obtained from layers created by Conservation
International (Harper et al., 2007), with additional imagery from GoogleEarth 2012 and GeoEye 2011 used to correct for cloud covered areas. Next, a buffer 100 m from the forest edge was created within forested areas. This buffer distance has been shown to delineate marked differences in important tree characteristics,such as variability in mortality (Laurance et al., 2007). Each plot was then coded for their location according to where they fell in the landscape in the five categories outlined above. It is important to note that land use in Madagascar is dynamic, which could result in errors in the categories assigned to plots (e.g., through deforestation or forest restoration between when the Conservation International layer was classified and when the plots were inventoried). Accordingly, we verified that the categories attributed to each plot from the Conservation International forest cover layer did not
change when visually inspected using more recent and higher-resolution imagery from GoogleEarth and GeoEye; no such changes were observed. Additionally, many of the sites used in this study
consisted of multiple plots with several different intensification categories.