Investigation of the Change of Wooded Aareas in Forest Land in Raudone Eldership

Abstract

Under the conditions of a global reduction in forest areas and climate change, it is important to preserve as many tree-covered areas as possible and understand change trends. The article purpose – aims at identifying forest area change trends of 19th-20th c. in the current forest land of the eldership Raudonė. In the research, historical topographic maps compiled during different periods, and 2019 data from the forest registry are used. The research method of a comparative analysis is employed. The change in forest areas was analysed, and forest areas that remained unchanged for 200 years were identified. The comparison of current forest areas reflected in the cadastral data and forest areas of the considered period allowed identifying the tendency of assigning land the purpose of forest land. During the research, the period with largest forest areas was determined to be the 19th c., and with the smallest – 1st half of the 20th c. During the Soviet period, forests areas were increasing, but did not achieve the same level as in the 19th c.