rly one-half was in use as vineyards and
olive groves. Forests covered just over one-third of the land, and
pastures just under one-third. About 22 percent of the land was
unproductive, but one-half of the unproductive areas had a potential for
development. Albanian government pronouncements have stated that about
20 percent of the land was arable in 1968 and that this figure would be
increased to 22 percent in 1970. The discrepancies in land use
statistics arise from varying interpretations as to the amount of
pastureland that is arable. Much that Albanian sources have claimed as
newly arable almost certainly is marginally so.

Dependence upon corn as the primary staple crop in much of the country
and limited amounts of arable land tended, until about 1950, to prevent
proper crop rotation. The government is attempting to introduce more
scientific agricultural practices and has claimed improved crop yields.

Although the amount of land that can be cultivated for the production of
foodstuffs is meager, the remoteness of the interior has allowed natural
flora to exist over fairly extensive areas with little disturbance. A
large variety of species flourishes, and an unusual number of them are
found in that vicinity only. Of some 2,300 seed-bearing plants, over 300
appear in the Balkans alone, and more than 50 occur only in Albania.

The land considered forest includes areas that contain little more than
scrub ground cover and others that have been ravaged by unsystematic
cutting. More than half of the forests, however, contain mature trees
and, owing largely to their inaccessibility, have escaped the reckless
harvesting that destroyed many lower elevation forests during the first
years of the country's independence.

Maquis, a Mediterranean scrub tree, grows to about fifteen or twenty
feet, can be extremely dense, and is the most frequent ground cover at
low elevations. It withstands dry weather and, although it is of little
value as a tree and does not of itself build a rich soil, it stabilizes
the alluvial lowlands and provides cover for better humus-producing
vegetation. Maquis can survive at slightly higher elevations in
sheltered conditions, but it is usually found below 1,000 or 1,300 feet.
Most maquis species are evergreen. Deciduous scrub, usually
Christ's-thorn, or _shiblijak_, is also common in the lowlands, but it
occurs much less frequently than maquis.

The oaks are the most important of trees. Oak forests