Transformation of agrarian land use in the 20th century in territories of complicated economic conditions

Under conditions of the recent conversion of the property rights and economic system it is important to analyse the possible consequences of these changes. The present work analyses the situation developing in the hilly agricultural territory of north-east Lithuania, which is unfavourable for commodity economy. The land use conversion is shown as a complex process conditioned by historical factors and space (territorial peculiarities). The course, scale, peculiarities and possible consequences of agrarian land use are analysed on the example of hilly morainic uplands of the Tauragnai economic unit in Utena Administrative Region of north-east Lithuania. Residents of this territory were questioned about their opinion concerning the afforestation of unproductive farm lands and land use today and in the future. It was determined that in the hilly territory of northeast Lithuania conversion of land use began actually fifty years ago with land naturalization and collectivization not only in the Soviet years, but also was conditioned by land use peculiarities in the previous years of private land ownership. The present economic and demographical situation is favourable in terms of ecology, because the antropogenic impact on the landscape has been considerably reduced. In the Tauragnai economic unit the area of arable land is minimal, making in some places less than 10% of agroterritory. However, the possibilities of ecological state optimization are difficult to predict, not only because of the indefinite policy of the agricultural and rural development, but also due to a very concrete factor - private land ownership. The latter circumstance serves and probably will serve in the future as the main stimulus for realisation of the important and promising programme of afforestation of unproductive farm lands. It was determined that most of land owners of the territory would not like to have their farm lands forested. Nevertheless, the results of the study allow to conclude that good prospects of unproductive land use in the Tauragnai and similar territories are related with expansion of forested areas and tourism. However, in our opinion, selection of plots for afforestation should be based, among other factors, on the landscape aesthetic evaluation