Várzea ou terra firme? A (re) produção do sistema família- estabelecimento na microbacia do Aricurá- Cametá- Pará

Abstract

Várzea and terra firme environments are used by populations inhabiting the Amazonian floodplains, and often residents may or may not simultaneously dispose of these two environments, which require differentiated survival strategies. On farmers´ properties, acai palms (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), have increased due to the expansion of national and international markets. The Aricurá River, tributary of the lower course Tocantins forms a micro-basin located to the south of the city of Cametá, state of Pará, which is formed by environments of várzea and terra firme; these environments are sometimes associated to one another; here açaí collection is one of the main activities carried out by residents. Thus, the conditions of this micro-basin allow us to approach, in one landscape unit, how these environments are used by families and what relevant factors operate in terms of exploration, especially those related to the production of the açai palm, by these families on their rural establishments. In this way, the main objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the availability of floodplain areas for productive activities, especially the production of açaí fruits, and in the socioeconomic reproduction of the family-establishment system. Research used a dual approach, one a productive technical and another of socioeconomic nature, this junction being considered a differentiated element of the current project. Research was carried out in eleven agricultural establishments distributed between the communities of Aricurá and Ajó; field research was done in three stages. Data collection involved different elements and categories: social, economic, epistemic and agronomic according to the requirement of the objectives and the hypotheses; the following categories of analysis were included: historical and the life dynamics of the residents of the communities; family income; labor relation (relation UT / UC) and labor used; use and management of establishments; production systems; landscape analysis. Plant diversity and palm bunch thinning index. Research shows that in the Aricurá micro-basin three factors are of great relevance, acting on the possibilities for natural resource use carried out by the families in their rural establishments: the availability of a floodplain environment, family characteristics and açaí as the main production activity.