7 
In: Wagner W., Székely, B. (eds.): ISPRS TC VII Symposium - 100 Years ISPRS, Vienna, Austria, July 5-7, 2010, IAPRS, Vol. XXXVIII, Part7B 
412 
LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION IN ALBANIA 
Pal Nikolli 
Tirana University, Faculty of History and Philology, Department of Geography, Tirana, Albania - 
palnikolli@yahoo.com 
KEY WORDS: land cover, classification, classification system, standardization, harmonization, Albania 
ABSTRACT: 
Land is one of our most precious assets, and its use is multi-faceted. Land cover and land use are, however, dynamic, and are 
affected both by natural phenomena, such as climatic events and natural disasters, and by human activities, although the 
impact of the latter has mainly been felt in the more recent centuries. 
The Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) is a comprehensive, standardized a priori classification system, designed to 
meet specific user requirements, and created for mapping exercises, independent of the scale or means used to map. Any 
land cover identified anywhere in the world can be readily accommodated. 
This article examines the land cover classification in Albania using the FAO/UNEP Land Cover Classification System for 
codification of classes. For this classification is used satellite remote sensing data. The aim of the land cover classification is 
to investigate the land cover transformations in the whole territory of Albania. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Land cover is a geographical feature which may form a 
reference base for applications ranging from forest and 
rangeland monitoring, production of statistics, planning, 
investment, biodiversity, climate change, to desertification 
control. Better assessment of the changes of land cover by 
using digital analysis of remote sensing satellite data can 
help decision makers to develop effective plans for the 
management of land (Gordon, 1980; Milington et al., 1986; 
Franchek and Biggam, 1992). 
Land cover classes are defined by a combination of a 
set of independent diagnostic criteria - the so-called 
classifiers - that are hierarchically arranged to assure a high 
degree of geographical accuracy. Because of the 
heterogeneity of land cover, the same set of classifiers 
cannot be used to define all land cover types. The 
hierarchical structure of the classifiers may differ from one 
land cover type to another. 
One of the prime prerequisites for better use of land is 
information on existing land use patterns and changes in 
land use through time. 
In Albania land cover classification, comprise three 
levels: 
• the first level (five items) indicates the major 
categories (abstract to a greater or lesser degree) of 
land cover on the planet; 
• the second level (15 items) is for use on scales of 
1:500 000 and 1: 1 000 000; 
• the third level (44 items) will be used for the project 
on a scale of 1: 100 000. 
Knowledge of the present distribution and area of 
such agricultural, recreational, and urban lands, as well as 
information on their changing proportions, is needed by 
legislators, planners, and State and local governmental 
officials to determine better land use policy, to project 
transportation and utility demand, to identify future 
development pressure points and areas, and to implement 
effective plans for regional development. As Clawson and 
Stewart (1965) have stated: In this dynamic situation, 
accurate, meaningful, current data on land use are essential. 
The framework of a national land cover classification 
system is presented for use with remote sensor data. The 
classification system has been developed to meet the needs 
of State agencies for an up-to-date overview of land use and 
land cover throughout the country on a basis that is uniform 
in categorization at the more generalized first and second 
levels and that will be receptive to data from satellite and 
aircraft remote sensors. 
2. GEOGRAPHIC POSITION OF ALBANIA 
Republic of Albania is situated on the west of 
Balkan Peninsula on the eastern littoral coasts of Adriatic 
and Jonnian seas (fig. 1.1). 
It is situated in the north geographical latitude 42° 
39' (Vermosh), south geographical latitude 39° 38' 
(Konispol) and eastern geographical longitude 21° 40' 
(Vernik), west geographical longitude 19° 16' (Sazan). 
Republic of Albania borders the Montenegro and Kosovo 
to the north and northeast, the Former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. Its 
western coast faces the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Albania 
has a total area of 28,748 square kilometres. Its coastline is 
362 kilometres long and extends along the Adriatic and 
Ionian Seas. The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic Sea. 
The 70% of the country that is mountainous is rugged and 
often inaccessible from the outside. The length of the 
border is 1094 km where 657 km are land, 48 km river, 73 
km lake and 316 km littoral border The north - south 
extension is 340 km, east - west 148 km and over the sea 
level 2751 m (mountain of Korab). 
The relief mainly hilly - mountainous is significant 
for the various forms, big contrasts. Until 200 m over the 
sea level lays 23.4 % of the country. The altitudes 200 - 
1000 m include 48.1 % and over 1000 m include 28.5 % of 
the Albanian territory. 
Plain field areas suitable for the intensive 
agricultural development and without erosion problems are 
few and situated on the west. The rest hilly part which lifts 
up gradually toward east offers possibility for the