Resumen

MERMA, Isaías y JULCA, Alberto. Descripción del medio y bases de zonificación del Alto Urubamba, Cusco, Perú. Ecol. apl., ene./agos. 2012, vol.11, no.1, p.13-21. ISSN 1726-2216.

In the rural context, a geographic region is an area suitable for analysis of agricultural systems. In this area, environmental factors, agricultural practices and use of resources are analyzed. Besides, it is possible to see local initiatives and social organization that value the area. This descriptive study was carried out in the province of La Convención, Cusco - Peru. The objective was to delimit a geo-economic unit and to identify homogeneous production zones in it. Secondary sources of information and the cooperation of local actors through participative research were used to describe the geographical area. Alto Urubamba was identified as a geoeconomic unit which is typical of the high forest and constitutes a geographic region between the Andes and the Amazonian plain. Biophysical characteristics of soils, climate, physiographic units, geodynamics, vegetation, micro-basins and socio-economic aspects with emphasis on agricultural production were described. Finally, four homogeneous production zones were identified: low, medium, high and mountainous, according to the altitude and the predominant crops of the area.

Palabras llave: Geographic region; area description; zoning; Alto Urubamba; high forest; Cusco.