Albania is a small mountainous country with a population of 3.3 million and a surface area of 28 748 km2. A great variety of microclimates is present in Albania, due to the two contrasting types of predominant climate, the Mediterranean and the central European, with their intervening transitional zone. This, coupled with wide differences in geological substratum, altitude, and topography, and varied origin of species, makes for a great diversity in plant communities. A variety of habitats and vegetation types are found within the country, including alpine and sub alpine mountain ecosystems, Mediterranean shrubs, grassland and marshland, streams and rivers, lakes and reservoirs, coastal lagoons, sand dunes and psammophilous vegetation, river delta, rocky coastal and marine ecosystems.
The forests constitute about 36 percent of the total land area, pastures 16 percent, agricultural land 24 percent and other lands 24 percent. The main forest species are oaks, beech, black pine, etc. The country has five forest types: Mediterranean shrub, oak woodland beech forests, Mediterranean fir and alpine zone.
These woodland types contain about 3 250 native vascular plant species distributed in 165 families and about 910 genera, i.e. about 30 percent of the approximately 11 600 European species (Paparisto, 1989). About 450 Albanian plant species are found only on the Balkan Peninsula, 27 species are endemic to Albania and 180 species are subendemic to Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece. Many species have important medical, industrial, alimentary and decorative uses and are therefore of economic value as well.
