The problem of abandoned agricultural land is relevant in Lithuania, particularly in the territories where poor soils are dominant. The aim of this research is to analyze the statistics of abandoned land in poor soil regions by different estimation methods. The abandoned land was registered for the purposes of the research. Areas might be determined by using statistical data and by applying the results of a distant research method. The initially obtained data showed large differences among the areas of abandoned land determined by different calculation methods, and this might cause a lot of problems, in particular when clarifying the validity of the land taxation. Therefore the initial data of the research concerning abandoned land should be essentially revised. The results of abandoned land accounting and evaluation (inventory) in each territory should be checked and confirmed by the committee of qualified specialists. The reasons of abandonment should be determined for each land plot, and further use of the plot should be determined. Plots of abandoned agricultural land should be estimated for each parcel of the private land and registered in the cadastre data as additional information for estimation of the land tax.

The latest land reform in Latvia has substantially altered the structure of use of farmland leading to a great number of very small and fragmented agricultural holdings, yet, in terms of occupied total area and UAA, medium size (10.0-50.0 ha) and slightly larger (more than 50.0 ha) land holdings dominate. In Latvia the number of agricultural holdings tends to decline. On the contrary, the average UAA per agricultural holding rose (by 66%), reaching 23.2 ha in 2010. One can conclude that positive structural changes take place in the agricultural industry – the number of small farms has declined and the number of and the area farmed by large marketoriented farms has risen, thus the difference between the sizes of land holdings that emerged during the land reform and the land areas farmed by agricultural holdings has increased.

Peculiarities of farming land usage in southern Lithuania are analyzed in the article. The analysis of archival data and cartographical material reflecting the structure of farming land in Marijampolė, Šakiai, Kazlų Rūda, Alytus, Lazdijai and Vilkaviškis municipalities was accomplished. Information was taken from yearbooks and archives of public institutions of the Republic of Lithuania and other sources as well. It was determined after analysis of collected information that usage and location of cultivated land greatly depend on the land’s productivity. The largest amount of undeclared farming land is in the districts where the land less favourable for farming is dominant. The analysis of the period of last 10 years has shown that the area of farming land decreased by 753 ha in Lazdijai district and by 194 ha in Vilkaviškis district, but increased by 5.5 ha in Alytus district on average per annum.

The article deals with land consolidation solutions in three rural territories of Latvia, creating perspective monolithic land plots in order to prevent land fragmentation and improve the structure of land properties. Although all three project territories are located in geographically analogical circumstances, established structure of land properties, their infrastructure and location in relation to Riga and other cities and towns prescribes different objectives of land consolidation. The proposed land consolidation methodology could be powerful tool in hands of local municipalities in order to promote development of to rural area in general, agriculture and other sectors.

The development of GIS technologies, of Earth remote sensing methods, improvement of the legal basis, as well as differences in approaches of creation and functioning of the cadastral systems puts on the agenda the task of using a unified methodological approach for the creation of the cadastral systems. It is particularly relevant during the period of integration and globalization of economic, sociopolitical, scientific and cultural, educational and other programs of different countries and, especially, of the countries of the European Union. The purpose of this research is to attempt to improve the structure of cadastral system with regard to land parcels registration outlining the main directions of scientific and practical research meant for the modernization of the cadastre. The results of the research are suggestions and recommendations about the possibility of creating a unified register of cadastral objects, land parcels in particular, as well as the list of scientific tasks aimed at the modernization and improvement of the cadastral system. The conclusions show that the cadastre should be regarded as the state informational and registration system of geospatial position of the objects, their quantitative and qualitative assessment and legal status at this stage of development of technical, techno-logical and legal trends. In a scientific sense, the cadastre is a branch of science which studies the patterns and principles of formation, functioning and preservation of cadastral objects, information about them and their register.

The article presents the research study of the current state and condition of the geodetic base (polygonometric) network for Kaunas city and region as well as the aspects of its compiling. The geodetic base compiled in the post-war years is considered to be of high quality and is used nowadays. The still existing polygonometric network is seldom studied and thus it remains little known. For the purpose of defining the current state of the geodetic base networks, the search for the points in Karmėlava neighbourhood of Kaunas region has been provided. From the total number of 22 points to be searched, five (i.e. 22 percentage) were determined, but only four points (i.e.18 percentage) were appropriate for measurements. The majority of the points has been destroyed during the construction of the residential buildings or roads, or after the reconstruction works. The measurements have been taken by Trimble R6, by RTK method, 10 times for each point. The most reliable value of the measured geodetic points X and Y were defined as well as the errors of the mean square for one measurement and of the average. The results of the survey (100 respondents) showed that the majority of the professionals apply the points of the polygonometric network when making measurements. However, the problems related to a rather rear usage of the network and the aggravated search of the polygonometric points were encountered. A significant part of the professionals suggested the restoration of the polygonometric network.

The aim of the article is to discuss practical issues of establishing the access to land property during the land reform as well as today, and to propose solutions to the identified problems. The methods of research include the analysis of scientific literature and legal acts as well as the case study and the analysis of documents. In this article several proposals are made. It is proposed that the law should include the condition that the establishment of servitudes is allowed only in rural areas and only as an exception if the access from the state or municipal road cannot be granted. The legal solution must be found for the servitudes without the dominant property which have been established during the land reform. The right for local authorities to determine the dominant property should also be considered. The suggestions may be used to elaborate legislative proposals.

The aim of the research was to identify the change of abandoned lands in Ūdrija cadastral area of Alytus district. This particular area was selected due to the diversity of land cover objects and because of a good agrarian condition. According to the data of 2010, the cadastral area of Ūdrija had 176 plots of abandoned land with the total area of 61.41 ha. After the verification 179 plots of a land were found, with the total area of 62.84 ha. It can be said that there is a minor increasing tendency of abandoned lands. During field verification as many as 41 mismatches were identified. The mismatch of the data was influenced by two main factors: a two year period between the information of the data set and field verification, as well as errors of the data set. To sum up, the information of verification has changed slightly. It happened because some mismatches were positive (identified new areas of abandoned land), while others were negative (plots of land which were in a set of data were denied during the verification).

The Agricultural Property Agency (APA) was founded on 16 July 2003 pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 11 April 2003 on the establishment of the agricultural system. The APA was established for the purpose of managing the agricultural property of the State Treasury in Poland. Its main tasks included the endorsement of ownership and structural changes relating to agricultural land in rural areas as well as the promotion of social goals. This article focuses on the social aspects of the APA’s operations based on an analysis of the data supplied by the Regional Branch of the APA in Olsztyn. The obtained information and materials were analyzed to identify programs and activities initiated by the Olsztyn branch in pursuit of social goals. The results of the analyses were presented in the table format. Community interviews were conducted and photographs were taken during the field study. The results were used to describe the social aspects of APA’s operations in rural areas.

Cadastral measurement provides cadastral data of a parcel determining its boundaries. In theory, based on the legislative regulations, the boundaries of adjacent parcels should not cross the boundaries of parcels, therefore an overlap of parcels is not possible. Yet the question arises if this requirement is met. The study has been conducted to examine the assumption regarding the possible overlap of adjacent parcels when the parcels abut a road. The study object consists of 24 parcels randomly selected from Kėdainiai district municipality, Lithuania which abut the following roads of national significance: road No. 144 (Jonava – Kėdainiai – Šeduva) and road No. 195 (Kėdainiai – Krekenava – Panevėžys) as well as regional road No. 2007 (Akademija – Šlapberžė – Berželė). The cadastral measurements of the selected roads were carried out in the period of 2013–2014. During the study, the analysis of the conditions of overlapping of boundaries and the areas of the overlap have been carried out. The results of the study indicate that the boundary accuracy of parcels is inaccurate in relation to road boundaries.