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Development of Land Cover Naturalness in Lithuania on the Edge of the 21st Century: Trends and Driving Factors

Author

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  • Daiva Juknelienė

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Laima Česonienė

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Donatas Jonikavičius

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Daiva Šileikienė

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Daiva Tiškutė-Memgaudienė

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Jolanta Valčiukienė

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Gintautas Mozgeris

    (Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų Str. 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania)

Abstract

Landscape naturalness is an important indicator for supporting sustainable development-driven policies and suggesting associated decisions in land management. This study used CORINE Land Cover data to estimate the changes in land cover naturalness in Lithuania since 1995. All the land cover types were ranked according to naturalness level, ranging from purely anthropogenic to natural landscapes. Spatial patterns of the increase or decline in landscape naturalness were investigated at the level of municipalities. Then, publicly available geographic data were mobilised to explain the reasons behind the trends observed. A minor increase in land cover naturalness in the whole area of Lithuania was observed; however, this increase was statistically insignificant. Nevertheless, statistically significant clusters with both increasing and decreasing levels of land cover naturalness were identified when moving to the level of municipalities. The trends in the development of landscape naturalness were associated with the specificity of agricultural and forestry activities in the municipalities. The suitability of lands for agriculture due to soil, terrain, current land use specifics, and related drivers, such as the availability of land reclamation installations and the intensity of land use, were the main drivers for the declining level of land cover naturalness, usually concentrated in northern and central Lithuania. The land cover naturalness did increase in less suitable areas for agriculture, i.e., in the more forested southeastern municipalities. The study emphasised the need for a systematic and spatially explicit monitoring of the land cover patterns and their changes as well as elaborated proposals for land management policies over the next decade, which were mostly in the line with current European Union and national strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Daiva Juknelienė & Laima Česonienė & Donatas Jonikavičius & Daiva Šileikienė & Daiva Tiškutė-Memgaudienė & Jolanta Valčiukienė & Gintautas Mozgeris, 2022. "Development of Land Cover Naturalness in Lithuania on the Edge of the 21st Century: Trends and Driving Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:339-:d:758247
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Tong, Qingmeng & Qiu, Feng, 2020. "Population growth and land development: Investigating the bi-directional interactions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Jialin Li & Ruiliang Pu & Hongbo Gong & Xu Luo & Mengyao Ye & Baixiang Feng, 2017. "Evolution Characteristics of Landscape Ecological Risk Patterns in Coastal Zones in Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-18, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Agnė Jasinavičiūtė & Darijus Veteikis, 2022. "Assessing Landscape Instability through Land-Cover Change Based on the Hemeroby Index (Lithuanian Example)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, July.

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