ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is difficult to summarize in a couple words how important some people were for my academic work during the four years of this research. The following list will always remain incomplete.

In the United States of America, I especially thank the contributions of:

• Emilio F. Moran, my advisor, a true facilitator during my stay in Bloomington. Emilio introduced me to the study of the human dimensions of environmental change and provided me with provocative questions that inspired my work
• Eduardo S. Brondízio, my friend and colleague, who taught me to work in several fronts and showed me how to integrate complementary techniques in human and landscape ecology
• J.C. Randolph, for his support and pragmatic view on vegetation ecology
• Paul Mausel, an expert in remote sensing and spectral analysis, for his insights during all the dissertation work
• Scott Robeson, who provided me with a critical approach in spatial analysis and statistics
• Elinor Ostrom, an amazing person and teacher, who opened my eyes to the importance of institutional analysis during my environmental studies
• Alejandro Flores, for quick and clean work with the vegetation database
• Amanda Evans, Patricia Strickland, and Teena Freeman, for administrative support
• Becky Snedegar and Karen Roberts, for their support in the Ph.D. program
• Bruce Boucek, for GIS support, friendship, and his critical view about life
• Fábio de Castro, for his assistance during fieldwork and insightful discussions on institutional aspects of environmental change within the study area
• Joanna Broderick and Melissa Strickland, for excellent proofreading work
• Tarkan Kacmaz, for computer support at ACT
• Vonnie Peischl, for her endless administrative support and for creating a pleasant work environment at ACT
• ACT - Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change, Indiana University, the place where I learned so many things in so little time
• CIPEC - Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change, Indiana University, which funded fieldwork in Rondônia through the National Science Foundation grant SBR-9521918
• NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, for funding complementary portions of the project through the LBA program and for a professional enhancement award

In Brazil, I am especially thankful for the contributions of:

• Evaristo Eduardo de Miranda, my academic advisor in EMBRAPA and omnipresent colleague in several endeavors
• Ademar Ribeiro Romeiro, Ivo Pierozzi Jr., and José Roberto Miranda, for their cooperation as heads of the EMBRAPA Satellite Monitoring
• Angelica Toniolo, Dino Visitação, and Joanna Tucker, for their assistance during fieldwork in Rondônia
• César Felício Prata, Maria Gorete Medeiros Santos, and Rosângela do Nascimento Pereira, for helping me with all the paperwork in EMBRAPA during the doctoral program
• Denise Alves Furtado and Elenara Chaves Edler de Almeida, for their diligent work at CAPES
• Eraldo Matricardi, who made me feel at home in Porto Velho, when looking for data about the study area
• Josimar, Athaíde, Manoel, Gilberto, and Sales, for their help during interviews and vegetation sampling in Machadinho d'Oeste and Vale do Anari
• Settlers, rubber tappers, loggers, and numerous other people who kindly contributed with this research, sharing their knowledge and experience at the Amazonian frontier
• CAPES - Federal Agency for Post-Graduate Education, for funding my studies at Indiana University
• EMBRAPA - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, particularly EMBRAPA Satellite Monitoring, where I have worked since 1989, for all the cooperation and support during the doctoral program
• A special thanks goes to my family in Brazil, which always makes me feel I am not alone and with whom I learned that 'the strength of a man is not measured, yet.'
• Last but not least, thanks to Claudia, my companion, soul mate, and friend, for her love, kindness, and character. Claudia has looked deeply into my being and has made me a better person. For the moments we have shared and the moments we will still enjoy together, I thank you.