SOIL SURVEY IN ALBANIA - European Soil Portal

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LUVISOLS 25.3% CALCISOLS 0.8% PHAEOZEMS 10.5% KASTANOZEMS 0.1% GLEYSOLS 0.5% SOLONCHAKS 0.4% FLUVSOLS 5.5% VERTISOLS 0.5% EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU ⎯ RESEARCH REPORT NO. 9 LEPTOSOLS 8.8% HISTOSOLS 0.1% Figure 2: Distribution of soils according to the WRB Use of Existing Soil Data Land evaluation of agricultural potentials Based upon the soil data accumulated during the period 1970-1988, the Soil Science Institute in Tirana began in 1988 a Physical Land Evaluation Study for all the agricultural land of the country. The main soil characteristics used for this land evaluation exercise were soil depth, thickness of the humus horizon, organic matter content at 50cm depth, available phosphorus, texture, and available moisture content of the topsoil. Soil acidity, alkalinity, salinity and the presence of stones are main soil constraints in Albania. Relief is a determining factor for agriculture; therefore slope threshold values were an important part of the evaluation process. Finally, climate determined the ultimate value of the land. Socio-economic factors were not considered in this study. At the end of the study all the agricultural land was divided into ten classes. Land class 1 is the best for agriculture crops while class 10 is the worst. Integral parts of this study were the preparation of several land evaluation maps, which show the classes of land for each farm, district and the entire country. The western coastal field areas, occupying 42 Ci ties 0.1% Soil Survey in Albania. Pandi Zdruli CAMBISOLS 30.6% ARENOSOLS 2.0% REGOSOLS 13.2% Water bodi es 1.3% Rock Outcr ops about 250,000ha, have been identified with the best land classes, which have good potential for intensive agriculture. Classes 1 to 4 occupy nearly 75% of this area. Factors of soil formation, physical landscape and generally similar climatic conditions are the main factors influencing the high land values. Hilly areas occupy roughly 220,000ha. These areas, along with the interior valleys, belong to a variety of land classes, though classes 4, 5 and 6 are dominant. The main reason for the decreasing land values in the hilly zone is slope. Mountain areas covering about 80,000ha include the lowest ranking land classes due to steep slopes and severe climatic conditions (Kaleshi et al., 1992). The most important soil constraints, such as salinity (about 10,000ha), textural class, soil depth, alkalinity (about 60,000ha) in the western coastal area, and acidity in about 70,000ha mostly in the north-eastern part of the country, were also identified. Possible interventions to mitigate the negative effects of these constraints may increase the land values by one or two classes. 0.5% Land use assessment A first attempt to prepare maps for actual land use and potential land use planning was done by Zdruli (1997b). This was followed by two EU
EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU ⎯ RESEARCH REPORT NO. 9 sponsored projects in 1997 and one in 2003. The latter is still in progress and the results are still to be reported. Zdruli (1997b) reports the distribution of arable crops mainly in the coastal area and the interior valleys; fruit trees, olive groves and vineyards in the hills; and pastures along with forest at the higher elevations. Under the current conditions, because agricultural land in Albania is high fragmented, the implementation of large-scale projects on land management is almost impossible. One approach to the issue of land consolidation, and sustainable land use planning, is the development of land use policies for single or similar groups of crops to be cultivated in suitable agro-ecological regions. These methods, in a sense, will overcome the obstacle of small land holdings because it will be one or few crops to unify large areas and thousands of farmers. This depends though, on investments and particularly on local and regional markets. Fertiliser use The history of fertiliser use in Albania began in the early 1970's with the construction of two factories, one for nitrogen and another for phosphate fertilisers. The impact on agricultural production was immediate and was reflected in the doubling of the yields of major crops over a short period. The main fertilisers used were ammonium nitrate, urea, single super phosphate and potassium chloride and sulphate. Fertiliser use was rather stable during the period 1985-1990 but declined notably in 1991 to about 33% (Thompson and Xia, 1992) of the average consumption during the previous six years. These declines resulted from the break-up of agricultural cooperatives and state farms, disruption of fertiliser distribution, lack of credit for fertiliser purchases, and relatively slow land reform. The US-based non-profit International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) is assisting Albania in restructuring its fertiliser production and input markets through the support for local dealers that replaced the governmental controlled enterprises of agricultural inputs operating during the old regime. Since 1995 fertiliser imports along with other inputs have increased greatly and continue to provide the greatest stimulus to the increase of agricultural production. It is important to emphasize that the efficiency of fertiliser use has improved significantly since the collapse of the centrally planned economic system. In addition, soil data play a crucial role when establishing the nutrient balance of soils, crop yields and the need for fertilisers. Natural resources conservation and management Soil Survey in Albania. Pandi Zdruli It is estimated that in Albania, in only one year, erosion washes away 1.2 million tons of organic carbon, 100,000 tons of nitrate salts, 60,000 tons of phosphates, and 16,000 tons of potassium salts (Laze and Kovaçi, 1996), while the total amount of fertilisers imported or produced by local industry is far less. Other studies (Qilimi, 1996) show that soil fertility is decreasing mainly because of reductions in organic matter content, nitrogen, and potassium compared to 20 years ago, resulting in nutrient mining of the soils. Zdruli and Lushaj (2000) report accelerated soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, soil pollution, re-salinisation, acidification, water logging, flooding, urbanisation and soil sealing, nutrient mining, and loss of soil fertility as perhaps the most alarming environmental problems in Albania. The basis for making these assessments remain the old and recent soil data supported by the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) and fieldwork. While the legal status and institutional strengthening for the conservation of natural resources is making progress, the most constraining problem remains law implementation and enforcement. Deterioration of the forests and natural pastures is the most visible example of such effects. The agricultural land in Albania is a finite resource and there are no areas remaining where the cropland could expand. Many mistakes were made in the past by converting natural pastures and forests to cropland and the negative results of such actions are well known throughout the country. (Zdruli et al., 1997b; 1998). Future Perspectives The most striking process that happened in Albanian agriculture after the political upheaval was the change in land ownership. There were about 550 agricultural co-operatives and state farms until 1990 managing all the agricultural land (about 700,000ha) of the country. The picture in 2001 shows the agricultural land being distributed among about 450,000 farm families averaging 1,3 hectares per farm or 0,25ha per person distributed in 1.8 million parcels, often far from each other (Civici, 2001). 43
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