Solution of ecological problems is an urgent and extremely important task at the present stage of social economic development of Ukraine. Unreasonably high degree of economic (mostly agricultural) reclaiming of area causes spreading and intensification of degradation processes in ecosystems. Conservation of lands, including the one carried out by means of foresting of degraded lands, is the principal way to renature environment. The article concerns an issue of land conservation in the context of ecosystem services of forests. The aim of the article is to assess the economic value of ecosystem services of forests in case of land conservation. To achieve the aim the authors developed a classification system of ecosystem services of forests according to their functional purposes; provide the calculation of prospective economic value of ecosystem services while foresting of a land plot with heavy eroded soil. The research was carried out using system, monographic and abstract-logical methods. The integral evaluation of prospective ecosystem services of forest in case of foresting of degraded land resulted in: minimum – 5. 07 thousand UAH per 1 ha in a year, maximum – 35. 91 thousand UAH per 1 ha in a year. The calculation of economic costs of ecosystem services should be applied for assessment of the economic value from protection of nature-protective areas as well as implementation of economic stimulation for land conservation.

The article presents the Lithuanian forest land change in the period of more than a hundred years. The causes leading to forest land use change are analysed in the article. The beginning of forestry in Lithuania can be traced back to Sigismund Augustus times starting from 1557, when Wallach reform was launched. However, over time forest land and its use evolved for a variety of political, social and economic factors. In 1795 the state-owned forests in Lithuania amounted to 35% of the total area of forests; other forests were owned by landlords, churches and kulak farms. Later forests were cut down quite rapidly, many of them burned down, but reforestation work was insignificant. The smallest forest coverage during the analysed period was in 1945, just 16.5%. Forests were thinned out, wastelands and waterlogged areas dominated. Later, albeit with different variations, the forest coverage of Lithuania increased and today forest area accounts for more than 34% of the total area of the country, the majority of which are private forests. More detailed characteristics of forest land use and user trends as well as their causes are presented in the article. It also looks at the possible prospects.