Many rural communities in the United States are experiencing a transition away from traditional conceptions of agrarian lifestyles and landscapes, and are increasingly faced with a new set of values, desires, and perspectives being brought in by new residents. This change in land use and land ownership presents opportunities as well as challenges to rural areas. This paper explores the some of the grounds behind some of the changes taking place, specifically in a political economic context, and the effect these changes are having on rural landscapes and the communities they support. In the face of a changing perception of "rural", I argue that it is important to acknowledge and foster respect for a plurality of values and desires for the land, both in how productivity of the land is conceptualized, as well as the approaches taken to manage these changes into a sustainable future. Community Landcare is one approach emerging in the United States, and presents a model to foster a sense of community in a multifunctional landscape, while providing the forum for landowners to maintain their individual values while coming together with a shared interest in "caring for the land". A case study of the Catawba Valley and its developing Catawba Landcare group illustrates these connections. / Master of Arts

There is a growing consensus that agricultural and rural lands contribute more than just commodity outputs; they also contribute non-market or non-commodity outputs as well. These non-market attributes of agriculture are well documented; ecosystem services, rural heritage, rural economic validity, and domestic food security to name a few. Increasingly, countries want to compensate producers of agricultural commodities for providing these non-market externalities as well. Policy decision makers in the United States need adequate information about the attitudinal, demographic, and economic preferences of the public for financially supporting these non-market commodities. Our research, using the contingent valuation research method, found that select attitudinal and demographic variables were significant in the public's decision to support a willingness to pay question regarding the compensation for the provision of such non-market goods. In addition, mean household willingness to pay for the non-market provisions from agricultural and rural lands was calculated for the U.S.

A pesquisa se caracteriza como pesquisa-ação. A análise e discussão de dados ocorre em três fases: fase exploratória, principal e avaliação/validação. O campo do estudo é uma indústria do setor calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul. Partindo do pressuposto que as indústrias calçadistas brasileiras, ao longo da sua história, têm adotado o sistema taylorista como principal modo de produção e, identificando que há necessidade de transformações do projeto de trabalho, considerando os altos índices de absenteísmo, custos humanos e de processo, pretende-se quebrar paradigmas ao introduzir, no setor, características mais flexíveis no projeto de trabalho. A partir da análise do sistema de produção vigente no cluster calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul, esta pesquisa tem o objetivo centrado em propor melhorias no sistema de trabalho que contemplem as questões sociotécnicas, considerando os quatro subsistemas do sistema sociotécnico: subsistema pessoal, subsistema tecnológico, o projeto do sistema de trabalho e o ambiente externo. Os resultados da fase exploratória indicaram necessidade de intervenção em duas questões: a implantação da multifuncionalidade como meio de flexibilização do processo produtivo e mudanças na jornada de trabalho que iniciava ainda de madrugada. Os resultados da implantação da nova jornada e da multifuncionalidade associada à alternância postural estão indicando diminuição dos custos humanos (acidentes de trabalho, distúrbios ocupacionais e absenteísmo), maior grau de autonomia dos trabalhadores e, maior flexibilização do processo produtivo para atender as demandas de mercado. Ocorreu incremento na satisfação das pessoas em relação ao trabalho, maior comprometimento com os resultados e rumos da empresa e, conseqüente satisfação com o trabalho e melhorias na saúde e qualidade de vida. Em termos de dificuldades, encontrou-se a resistência dos trabalhadores do segundo escalão (coordenadores de setor e gerências) em quebrar paradigmas ao adotar um novo sistema de gestão, dificultando os resultados em termos de indicadores de produção. / This research is characterised as action research. The analysis and data discussion occurs in three stages: exploratory, principal and evaluation/validation. The study field is a shoe industry in Rio Grande do Sul. From the presupposition that Brazilian shoe industries, during their history, have adopted the Taylorist system as main way of production and, identifying that there is a need for work project transformations, considering the high rates of absenteeism, human and process costs, it is intended to break paradigms when introducing, in the sector, more flexible characteristics in the work project. From the analysis of the current production system in the shoe cluster in Rio Grande do Sul, this research has the aim focused on proposing improvements in the work system which consider the sociotechnical issues, considering the four subsystems of the sociotechnical system: personal subsystem, technological subsystem, work system project, and external environment. The exploratory stage results indicated intervention necessity in two issues: the multifunctionality implementation as a way for productive process flexibilisation and changings in the working hours which used to begun at dawn. The results of the new schedule implementation and the multifunctionality associated to posture alternation are indicating a decreasing in the human costs (job accident, occupational disorder and absenteeism) major degree of workers autonomy and, major flexibilisation of the productive process to supply the market demand. It occurred an increasing of people satisfaction related to work, major engagement with the results and company direction and, consequent satisfaction with the work and improvements in health and life quality. In terms of difficulties, it was found a resistance of the second scale workers ( section coordinators and management) to break paradigms when adopting a new management system, difficulting the results in terms of production indicators.

A pesquisa se caracteriza como pesquisa-ação. A análise e discussão de dados ocorre em três fases: fase exploratória, principal e avaliação/validação. O campo do estudo é uma indústria do setor calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul. Partindo do pressuposto que as indústrias calçadistas brasileiras, ao longo da sua história, têm adotado o sistema taylorista como principal modo de produção e, identificando que há necessidade de transformações do projeto de trabalho, considerando os altos índices de absenteísmo, custos humanos e de processo, pretende-se quebrar paradigmas ao introduzir, no setor, características mais flexíveis no projeto de trabalho. A partir da análise do sistema de produção vigente no cluster calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul, esta pesquisa tem o objetivo centrado em propor melhorias no sistema de trabalho que contemplem as questões sociotécnicas, considerando os quatro subsistemas do sistema sociotécnico: subsistema pessoal, subsistema tecnológico, o projeto do sistema de trabalho e o ambiente externo. Os resultados da fase exploratória indicaram necessidade de intervenção em duas questões: a implantação da multifuncionalidade como meio de flexibilização do processo produtivo e mudanças na jornada de trabalho que iniciava ainda de madrugada. Os resultados da implantação da nova jornada e da multifuncionalidade associada à alternância postural estão indicando diminuição dos custos humanos (acidentes de trabalho, distúrbios ocupacionais e absenteísmo), maior grau de autonomia dos trabalhadores e, maior flexibilização do processo produtivo para atender as demandas de mercado. Ocorreu incremento na satisfação das pessoas em relação ao trabalho, maior comprometimento com os resultados e rumos da empresa e, conseqüente satisfação com o trabalho e melhorias na saúde e qualidade de vida. Em termos de dificuldades, encontrou-se a resistência dos trabalhadores do segundo escalão (coordenadores de setor e gerências) em quebrar paradigmas ao adotar um novo sistema de gestão, dificultando os resultados em termos de indicadores de produção. / This research is characterised as action research. The analysis and data discussion occurs in three stages: exploratory, principal and evaluation/validation. The study field is a shoe industry in Rio Grande do Sul. From the presupposition that Brazilian shoe industries, during their history, have adopted the Taylorist system as main way of production and, identifying that there is a need for work project transformations, considering the high rates of absenteeism, human and process costs, it is intended to break paradigms when introducing, in the sector, more flexible characteristics in the work project. From the analysis of the current production system in the shoe cluster in Rio Grande do Sul, this research has the aim focused on proposing improvements in the work system which consider the sociotechnical issues, considering the four subsystems of the sociotechnical system: personal subsystem, technological subsystem, work system project, and external environment. The exploratory stage results indicated intervention necessity in two issues: the multifunctionality implementation as a way for productive process flexibilisation and changings in the working hours which used to begun at dawn. The results of the new schedule implementation and the multifunctionality associated to posture alternation are indicating a decreasing in the human costs (job accident, occupational disorder and absenteeism) major degree of workers autonomy and, major flexibilisation of the productive process to supply the market demand. It occurred an increasing of people satisfaction related to work, major engagement with the results and company direction and, consequent satisfaction with the work and improvements in health and life quality. In terms of difficulties, it was found a resistance of the second scale workers ( section coordinators and management) to break paradigms when adopting a new management system, difficulting the results in terms of production indicators.

A pesquisa se caracteriza como pesquisa-ação. A análise e discussão de dados ocorre em três fases: fase exploratória, principal e avaliação/validação. O campo do estudo é uma indústria do setor calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul. Partindo do pressuposto que as indústrias calçadistas brasileiras, ao longo da sua história, têm adotado o sistema taylorista como principal modo de produção e, identificando que há necessidade de transformações do projeto de trabalho, considerando os altos índices de absenteísmo, custos humanos e de processo, pretende-se quebrar paradigmas ao introduzir, no setor, características mais flexíveis no projeto de trabalho. A partir da análise do sistema de produção vigente no cluster calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul, esta pesquisa tem o objetivo centrado em propor melhorias no sistema de trabalho que contemplem as questões sociotécnicas, considerando os quatro subsistemas do sistema sociotécnico: subsistema pessoal, subsistema tecnológico, o projeto do sistema de trabalho e o ambiente externo. Os resultados da fase exploratória indicaram necessidade de intervenção em duas questões: a implantação da multifuncionalidade como meio de flexibilização do processo produtivo e mudanças na jornada de trabalho que iniciava ainda de madrugada. Os resultados da implantação da nova jornada e da multifuncionalidade associada à alternância postural estão indicando diminuição dos custos humanos (acidentes de trabalho, distúrbios ocupacionais e absenteísmo), maior grau de autonomia dos trabalhadores e, maior flexibilização do processo produtivo para atender as demandas de mercado. Ocorreu incremento na satisfação das pessoas em relação ao trabalho, maior comprometimento com os resultados e rumos da empresa e, conseqüente satisfação com o trabalho e melhorias na saúde e qualidade de vida. Em termos de dificuldades, encontrou-se a resistência dos trabalhadores do segundo escalão (coordenadores de setor e gerências) em quebrar paradigmas ao adotar um novo sistema de gestão, dificultando os resultados em termos de indicadores de produção. / This research is characterised as action research. The analysis and data discussion occurs in three stages: exploratory, principal and evaluation/validation. The study field is a shoe industry in Rio Grande do Sul. From the presupposition that Brazilian shoe industries, during their history, have adopted the Taylorist system as main way of production and, identifying that there is a need for work project transformations, considering the high rates of absenteeism, human and process costs, it is intended to break paradigms when introducing, in the sector, more flexible characteristics in the work project. From the analysis of the current production system in the shoe cluster in Rio Grande do Sul, this research has the aim focused on proposing improvements in the work system which consider the sociotechnical issues, considering the four subsystems of the sociotechnical system: personal subsystem, technological subsystem, work system project, and external environment. The exploratory stage results indicated intervention necessity in two issues: the multifunctionality implementation as a way for productive process flexibilisation and changings in the working hours which used to begun at dawn. The results of the new schedule implementation and the multifunctionality associated to posture alternation are indicating a decreasing in the human costs (job accident, occupational disorder and absenteeism) major degree of workers autonomy and, major flexibilisation of the productive process to supply the market demand. It occurred an increasing of people satisfaction related to work, major engagement with the results and company direction and, consequent satisfaction with the work and improvements in health and life quality. In terms of difficulties, it was found a resistance of the second scale workers ( section coordinators and management) to break paradigms when adopting a new management system, difficulting the results in terms of production indicators.

Demand for wearable electronics is expected to at least triple by 2020, embracing all sorts of Internet of Everything (IoE) applications, such as activity tracking, environmental mapping, and advanced healthcare monitoring, in the purpose of enhancing the quality of life. This entails the wide availability of free-form multifunctional sensory systems (i.e “skin” platforms) that can conform to the variety of uneven surfaces, providing intimate contact and adhesion with the skin, necessary for localized and enhanced sensing capabilities. However, current wearable devices appear to be bulky, rigid and not convenient for continuous wear in everyday life, hindering their implementation into advanced and unexplored applications beyond fitness tracking. Besides, they retail at high price tags which limits their availability to at least half of the World’s population. Hence, form factor (physical flexibility and/or stretchability), cost, and accessibility become the key drivers for further developments. To support this need in affordable and adaptive wearables and drive academic developments in “skin” platforms into practical and functional consumer devices, compatibility and integration into a high performance yet low power system is crucial to sustain the high data rates and large data management driven by IoE. Likewise, scalability becomes essential for batch fabrication and precision. Therefore, I propose to develop three distinct but necessary “skin” platforms using scalable and cost effective manufacturing techniques. My first approach is the fabrication of a CMOS-compatible “silicon skin”, crucial for any truly autonomous and conformal wearable device, where monolithic integration between heterogeneous material-based sensory platform and system components is a challenge yet to be addressed. My second approach displays an even more affordable and accessible “paper skin”, using recyclable and off-the-shelf materials, targeting environmental mapping through 3D stacked arrays, or advanced personalized healthcare through the developed “paper watch” prototype. My last approach targets a harsh environment waterproof “marine skin” tagging system, using marine animals as allies to study the marine ecosystem. The “skin” platforms offer real-time and simultaneous monitoring while preserving high performance and robust behaviors under various bending conditions, maintaining system compatibility using cost-effective and scalable approaches for a tangible realization of a truly flexible wearable device.

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) wetlands account for ~75% of all Utah wetlands and provide not only critical habitat for millions of migratory birds, but also provide valuable ecosystem functions and services as well as economic benefits to Utahns. However, these wetlands are facing an aggressive invader, Phragmites australis, that has spreading across the GSL wetlands and replacing native wetland habitats. Wetland managers have spent countless resources and time trying to control the spread of P. australis and restore GSL wetlands. However, we do not fully understand how these wetlands functions and services are being altered with this habitat homogenization because functional data for our wetland species have not been well documented. This lack of knowledge may hinder wetland restoration efforts. To create baseline functional data for the GSL wetland species and better understand how the spread of P. australis might be affecting the overall health of the system, I measured eight individual ecosystem functions for seven dominant habitat types found across the GSL wetlands. I compared these individual functions across habitat types as well as created two different multifunctionality indices using an averaging and a thresholds approach. With these comparisons, I was able to determine the distinct functional strengths of different wetland habitat types and their overall functional abilities. I found that functional abilities varied greatly by habitat type and that not one single habitat could support every function even at the lowest threshold measured. I found that Typha latifolia, Schoenoplectus acutus, and P. australis, had the highest multifunctional values. However, I also found that some habitats offered unique functions, such as Salicornia rubra and playa, and that these functions were lacking in other habitats, including the most multifunctional habitats. These findings suggest that maintaining habitat heterogeneity will be critical in ensuring a fully functioning wetland system that can provide a multitude of ecosystems services that benefit both humans and wildlife. The findings of this study will supply wetland managers with a better understanding of the functional strengths of different wetland habitats. This data will aid in ongoing restoration efforts by enabling managers to target certain functions and create more efficient and effective management plans.

L‘objectif de ce travail est d‘étudier le développement d‘une énergie renouvelable, la méthanisation, comme potentiel vecteur de transformation de l‘activité agricole et de son intégration dans les espaces ruraux en Allemagne. Il s‘agit d‘analyser la dimension spatiale de ce changement social. L‘hypothèse centrale consiste à considérer que les modalités du changement sociotechnique qu‘est la transition énergétique dépendent de la manière dont les acteurs, ici principalement des agriculteurs, se saisissent des possibilités offertes par les objets techniques et les politiques publiques. Ces phénomènes sont ici étudiés dans une enquête structurée par l‘association entre les concepts de multifonctionnalité et de capital territorial, portant sur quatre territoires de projet situés en Allemagne. Les enquêtes deterrain démontrent l‘ambivalence des changements agricoles liés à l‘activité de méthanisation, entre le renforcement de l‘intégration agro-industrielle et celui de l‘ancrage territorial des exploitations agricoles. Elles permettent de dresser une typologie de ces formes d‘hybridation. Il a également pu être démontré que cette ambivalence était fortement liée à l‘évolution des politiques publiques. Cependant, elle est également influencée par les types d‘investisseurs ainsi que par les contextes géographiques, dont les acteurs peuvent mobiliser les caractéristiques (dynamiques récessives ou intégration urbaine des espaces ruraux, héritages territoriaux, rapports localisés à l‘énergie). / This research aims at investigating the connections between energy transitions and agricultural transformations through a comparative research focused on four case studies in Germany. The starting point of this inquiry was the ambivalence of these changes. On the one hand, biogas generation tends to reinforce the socio-economic integration of farms intoagro-industrial value chains. On the other hand, this activity could also strengthen the connections with local stakeholders, for example through the implementation of localised heating networks in neighbouring villages or cities. The first aim of this research is to depict these ambivalent agricultural changes, to identify and evaluate key drivers that shape these processes. The main hypothesis of this work is that not only changes in German policies could explain this ambivalence. The various kinds of investors and the individual farmer‘s aims and needs influence the particular ways in which these changesoccur. Finally, the use of resources bounded to specific contexts contributes to shape these changes, but also generate social inequalities. / Das Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand darin, die Auswirkungen der Energiegewinnung durch Biogas auf die Landwirtschaft und die ländlichen Räume anhand einer vergleichenden Studie in vier deutschen Untersuchungsgebieten zu untersuchen. Dafür wurden die Konzepte der landwirtschaftlichen Multifunktionalität und des territorial capital in Verbindung mit der multi-level perspective auf den soziotechnischen Wandel verwendet. Dabei wurde zunächst der Trend zu einer Hybridisierung dieses Wandels herausgearbeitet. Biogas kann die produktivistischen Praktiken der Betriebe verstärken, aber auchabschwächen. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass diese gegenläufigen Entwicklungspfade gleichzeitig in den landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben ablaufen können. Darüber hinaus belegt diese Arbeit, dass die Entwicklung der Gesetzgebung und auch die Art von Investoren (industrielle oder finanzielle Firmen, landwirtschaftliche Betriebsarten) ebenso wie die lokalen Merkmale (Peripherisierungsprozesse bzw. Bevölkerungsrückgang im ländlichen Raum, Formen des territorialen Erbes— „héritage territorial― — oder eine besondere lokale Geschichte in Bezug auf das Thema Energie) diese ambivalenten Entwicklungspfade beeinflussen können, sobald die Akteure die betreffenden Merkmaleund Ressourcen nutzen. Deshalb kann es zur Entstehung von umweltbezogenen sozialen Ungleichheiten kommen.

A restauração florestal é mais do que somente plantar árvores. É necessário que haja o monitoramento do desenvolvimento da floresta no que diz respeito tanto a parâmetros estruturais e florísticos, mas também aos processos ecológicos. Esses processos propiciam as interações entre as espécies e promovem a funcionalidade do sistema, provendo serviços ecossistêmicos. Por isso, é necessário, além de monitorar o crescimento da vegetação, avaliar se o ecossistema está operando da forma como seria esperado. O objetivo desta tese é abordar questões referentes aos processos ecológicos e atributos funcionais em áreas florestais em processo de restauração. No primeiro capítulo, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática com o intuito de identificar os processos ecológicos e as variáveis que são medidas em estudos de restauração florestal. Os três capítulos seguintes foram baseados na coleta de dados em três sítios de estudo, situados no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Foram coletados dados em florestas que tiveram intervenções de restauração (com aproximadamente 10 anos de desenvolvimento), bem como em florestas de remanescentes (utilizadas como sistema de referência). Além da amostragem da vegetação arbórea, foram coletados dados de diversos processos ecológicos, relacionados à ciclagem de nutrientes (decomposição, detritivoria e qualidade da serapilheira e do solo), produtividade (biomassa arbórea acima do solo e biomassa de folhas) e recrutamento (regeneração natural), bem como informações sobre atributos foliares, reprodutivos e de crescimento das espécies. Os resultados obtidos para cada um dos capítulos indicaram que: (1) os processos mais comumente avaliados foram aqueles relacionados à ciclagem de nutrientes, seguido por resiliência do ecossistema, produtividade, relações hídricas e interações bióticas; além disso foi identificado que os resultados positivos das ações de restauração nos processos ecológicos aumentam a medida que os sítios se tornam mais antigos; (2) áreas em restauração ainda diferem de suas respectivas florestas de referência para quase todas as variáveis analisadas, mas, ao contrário da nossa expectativa inicial, as diferenças foram maiores quando considerados os parâmetros estruturais da vegetação, indicando que os processos ecológicos podem se restabelecer antes mesmo da floresta atingir sua completa complexidade estrutural; (3) as variáveis que mais afetaram os processos ecológicos foram aquelas relacionadas aos atributos funcionais, tendo a riqueza de espécies na comunidade apenas um papel secundário na variação dos processos ecológicos estudados; além disso, tanto variáveis de composição funcional, quanto de diversidade funcional tiveram influência nos processos; e (4) modelos utilizados para avaliar a semelhança funcional entre restauração e referência indicaram que a comunidade presente no sub-bosque da restauração apresenta uma maior semelhança funcional com o sistema de referência do que a comunidade do dossel, indicando que as espécies utilizadas nos plantios diferem consideravelmente em sua composição funcional das áreas de referência. Esse estudo ressalta a importância de se compreender melhor os processos ecológicos em ecossistemas florestais e sua aplicação na avaliação do funcionamento de áreas em processo de restauração. O monitoramento desses sítios deve ser realizado a longo prazo de forma a verificar as variações ao longo do desenvolvimento florestal e avaliar as trajetórias sucessionais, sugerindo ações de manejo se necessário. / Forest restoration is more than just planting trees. It is required that forest growth is monitored both by measuring structural and floristic parameters, but also ecological processes. These processes provide interactions among species and promote ecosystem functionality, also offering important ecosystem services. Thus, it is necessary that besides monitoring vegetation growth, it should be evaluated if the ecosystem is operating as would be expected. The objective of this thesis it to address questions related to the ecological processes and functional traits in forests sites undergoing restoration. In the first chapter, we performed a systematic review in order to identify the ecological processes and the variables measured in forest restoration studies. The following three chapters were based on data collected in three study sites, located in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We collected data in forests subjected to restoration (approximately 10 years-old) and more conserved forests not subjected to restoration (used as reference ecosystem). Besides sampling tree components, we collected data on several ecological processes, related to nutrient cycling (decomposition, detritivory and litter and soil quality), productivity (aboveground tree biomass and litter biomass) and recruitment (natural regeneration), as well as information on leaf, reproductive and growth traits of species. The results obtained for each chapter indicated that: (1) the processes that were more frequently measured were the ones related to nutrient cycling, followed by ecosystem resilience, productivity, water relations and biotic interactions; additionally, we identified that positive results of restoration interventions on the ecological processes increased as sites became older; (2) restoration sites still differed from their reference ecosystems for all variables evaluated, but opposed to what we initially expected, these differences were even greater when we considered the structural parameters from the vegetation, suggesting that ecological processes may recover even before the full reestablishment of forest complexity; (3) the variables that most affected ecological processes were the ones related to functional traits, and community species richness had only a secondary role in the variation of ecological processes; in addition, both variables related to functional composition and functional diversity affected the ecological processes evaluated; and (4) the models used to evaluate functional similarity between restoration and reference indicated that the community growing in the understory of the restoration site is functionally more similar to the reference than the canopy community, suggesting that the species used in restoration plantings differ considerably in functional composition from reference sites. This study highlights the importance of ecological processes in forest ecosystems and its application in the evaluation of the functioning of sites undergoing restoration. Monitoring of these sites should be performed for a long period, in order to verify changes during forest growth and to evaluate sucessional trajectories, suggesting management actions if necessary.

Diante do agravo das crises ambiental e social, ações públicas de reforma agrária permitem a criação de assentamentos próximos a Regiões Metropolitanas, buscando conciliar a produção agrícola e a preservação ambiental. Nesta perspectiva, este estudo buscou levantar elementos para alimentar o debate sobre a pluriatividade em áreas de reforma agrária. A proposta visa debater as formas, impactos e significados que a pluriatividade representa nestas áreas. O exame do fenômeno ocorreu em três níveis: o contexto histórico do território, as características do assentamento e suas ligações com a cidade e os aspectos socioeconômicos e produtivos das famílias assentadas. O estudo revelou que a pluriatividade emerge com significados diferentes dependendo do contexto histórico do território e das características e estratégias das famílias assentadas. Em todos os casos, a pluriatividade, de distintas naturezas, contribuiu com a reprodução agrícola das famílias, no entanto com impactos diversos no desenvolvimento local. / Public actions of land reform allow creation of assentments near metropolitan areas to conciliate agriculture and environmental conservation facing the worsening in environmental and social crisis. In this perspective, the present study surveyed elements to support argumentation on pluriactivity in assentment areas. The proposal aims to debate ways, impacts and meanings that pluriactivity represents in these areas. Examination of this phenomenon was carried out in three levels: the historical context of the land, the assentment characteristics and their relationships with town, and socio-economic and productive aspects of settlers. The analysis shown that pluriactivity comes up with different meanings according to both historical context of the land and characteristics and strategies of the settlers. In all cases pluriactivities of distinct natures contributed to agricultural reproduction of families, however with diverse impacts on local development.