THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS IN ALBANIA

Agricultural production is realized through a combination of natural and human factors. During this dynamic process humans interfere in the natural ecosystems to achieve pre-planned yields by cultivated plants and managed livestock. Achieving these objectives requires additional inputs beyond those provided in natural production processes. The type of inputs provided by humans might be both of renewable and non renewable resources. As a consequence of the human interference significant negative changes are becoming evident in natural and agro-ecosystems, which might threaten their long term sustainability. In this context, setting quantitative criteria for monitoring the dynamics of the overall sustainability in the agro-ecosystems remains a permanent challenge for the society. Application of the Sustainability Inequality for Albania`s agro-ecosystems showed us that agricultural production is far from being sustainable. Reorientation of the agricultural production towards sustainability trends remains one of the most important challenges in Albania. Achieving this objective requires a shift towards the use of more renewable resources, and continuous monitoring of this shifting process.