Resumo

DE LA CRUZ, Ernesto  e  PEREIRA, Ismael. Contributions to the study and understanding of biological and physical-geographical aspects of cocoa (theobroma cacao I.) in the subregion of Barlovento, Miranda state. SAPIENS [online]. 2012, vol.13, n.2, pp.9-122. ISSN 1317-5815.

For the study of the biological and physical-geographical aspects of cocoa, you must start with its genesis from a geo-historical vision, and the area of analysis will be the subregion of Barlovento, Miranda State. This vision emerged from a historical sense, during the colony in which slavery traits are recognized, in a modified feudal mode of production, with mercantilism features based on subsistence agriculture. Cocoa, which determined that this noble people of “Barlovento”, it stands out for its architecture, population, spatial distribution, biodiversity, mode of production, social relations and culture. Therefore, it is necessary to address the biological and physical-geographical factors that determine this "symbiotic" binomial between Cocoa and “Barlovento”, as an understanding of the past, present and the future of this region. In this article, it first review the characteristics of the landscape, the geological origins that determine their physical, geographical and hydrographic present, highlighting the parameters of climate, rainfall and temperature, as well as the generalities about the characteristics of their soil in different areas of the subregion. Secondly, it describes the biological and ecophysiological characteristics of cocoa, highlighting its links with the characteristics described for the subregion of “Barlovento”.

Palavras-chave : Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.),; Geography and Climate of the subregion of Barlovento; Miranda State.