THE IMPACT OF OLIVE GROWING ON THE LANDSCAPE IN THE FOURNI VALLEY *

The Fourni Valley is located in the southern Argolid, Greece. It is situated 150 kilometers south of Athens and 6 kilometers north of Kranidi, the capital of the subdistrict of Ermionidos. The bulk of the valley constitutes the land of the kinotis, incorporated village, of Fourni. The village of Fourni is a seminucleated settlement with a mixed economy based on olive growing and supplemented by citrus cultivation, sheep and goat herding, grain cultivation, fishing, pine tapping, gardening, seafaring, and migration. The village has 390 permanent residents and 130 people who are considered village citizens, although they reside outside, mainly in Piraeus and the United States. The present population is mainly composed of the descendants of Albanian settlers who came t o the Peloponnese during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. These settlers repopulated the area after a general depopulation took place in early medieval times.'-3 The terrain in the southern Argolid is rugged, with deep dissections, valleys, and gorges leading towards the sea. The landscape is mainly covered with maquis vegetation dominated by juniper, wild olives, wild pistachio, wild carob, kermes oak, wild pear, and a variety of shrubs. The original pine forest has almost disappeared. Small stands of pine and even individual trees dot the landscape, however. Because of deforestation, the soils of the surface layers on higher elevations have been gradually eroding and accumulating in the valleys and depressions.4 The climate in the valley is characterized by dry hot summers and mild wet winters. During the field work period between September 1, 197 1 and September 1, 1972, the Fourni Valley received a total of 19.41 inches of rain. There were 32 rainy days distributed with equal intervals, with an average of 0.61 inches per day during the wet months, which lasted between November 9, 1971 and July 4, 1972. During these wet months, the maximal temperature was 48" C and the minimal temperature was 0" C. The zero mark was reached only once. During the dry months, the maximal temperature was 59' C and the minimal temperature was 4' C. The Fourni Valley is a rectangular depression running east to west on the southwestern shore of the Argolid Peninsula. I t is about one kilometer in width and eight kilometers in length. The western extremity of the valley is located o n the Gulf of Koronis. The Fourni River, which runs only during concentrated and