Estudios de clima de montaña en Cuba, topoclimas

Natural resources and agro-productive chains of food and economic importance are closely dependent on climatic dynamics in the mountains. This research analyzed the antecedents of mountain climate studies in Cuba, emphasizing those related to the topoclimate. A bibliographic review was carried out of the studies that had as objective, completely or partially, the dynamics of the climate of the mountains in Cuba during the period 1965 to 2020. The review examined three indicators for each publication: spatial scale, climatic-geographical factors, and weather elements. It was determined that 21 of the 29 studies evaluated were carried out on a mesoclimatic scale. Height, as a climatic-geographical factor, has been analyzed in all the studies reviewed. Precipitation has been the climatic element addressed by the largest number of investigations. The gradient analysis method has been the most widely used in mountain studies on a local scale. An incipient trend to the use of numerical models and global climate reanalysis is identified, with high potential for this type of study. The study concluded that, under conditions of limited technological capacity, a proposal is needed that integrates the potentialities of gradient methods and numerical models for topoclimatic studies to minimize the limitations of both methods.