Resumo. The management of bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella Benth.) is a common practice in rural settlements in northwestern Santa Catarina state plateau, which is one of the main activities to generate income for the farmers. This work aims to identify the parameters considered important for this management, using participatory diagnostic methods in workshops with farmers from the settlements of Calmon and Matos Costa municipalities. The results show that there are an expressive number of interventions for the formation and the management of the bracatingais, indicating that they are strongly managed landscapes, closer to human artifact conditions than to native forests. This characteristics should be considered in the in specific legislation of bracatinga management.