Senetra, A., Szczepańska, A., Veteikis, D., Wasilewicz-Pszczółkowska, M., Šimanauskienė, R., Volungevičius, J.
Changes of the land use patterns in Polish and Lithuanian
trans-border rural area
The objective of this study was to analyse changes in the
land use patterns of agricultural land and forests in Polish and Lithuanian
trans-border rural areas. A studied territorial complex comprises two Polish
voivodships (Warmia and Mazury, Podlasie) and two Lithuanian counties
(Marijampolė and Alytus). The principal research sites were Polish counties
(Polish: powiat, the second-level unit of local government and administration
in Poland) and Lithuanian municipalities (Lithuanian: savivaldybė, the second-level
unit of local government and administration in Lithuania), which represent
corresponding territorial units in the respective national administrative
structures. The analysed dataset covers the period of 2005–2010 and supports
the identification of changes in the land use structure of farmland and forests
which have taken place since the introduction of political and economic
transformations in Poland and Lithuania. The dynamics and direction of changes
were compared against different historical and economic backgrounds to assess
the prevailing trends in land use profiles in both countries.