For many centuries land relations in the territories of Latvia and Russia have been developed by different influences of different foreign forces. The comparison of orientation and dynamics of the land reform in countries with similar initial parameters allowed analyzing the impact of changes in property relations on activities of farms, their productivity, involved costs and the benefits. The main conclusion is that the land reforms in Latvia and in Russia were not the main objective of agricultural land use saving and development of agricultural enterprises.

The main reason of land fragmentation in Latvia was the restitution of ownership rights to former landowners or their heirs, as well as the land acquisition by other persons in the process of the land reform. As a result the ownership structure was obtained which is not competitive in the aspect of production efficiency. Different instruments as land consolidation, land reallotment and others can be applied for the reduction of land fragmentation. The reduction of land fragmentation should play an essential role in the use of the land corresponding to the spatial development plans which determines perspective land use. Therefore the improvement of the ownership structure should be one of the stages of land use planning.

The analysis of the declared agricultural land and ecological farming situated in the Krekenava regional park (RP), which is situated in the Middle Lithuania, is presented in the article. The Naujamiestis subdistrict was chosen for the comparison of the use of agricultural lands and ecological farming in the regional park. In 2011, the total agricultural land and crop area declared in the Krekenava Regional Park was 8184.19 ha, i.e. by 317.89 ha or 3.74 percent less than in 2009. 371 family farms were declared, i.e. by 53 farms less in comparison with 2009. In 2009, the declared area of agricultural lands in Naujamiestis subdistrict covered 9877.66 ha and it made up 63.32 percent of the total subdistrict’s area. 359 farmers introduced declarations. The average area of the declared farms was 27.51 ha. In 2011, the declared area of the agricultural lands was 9851.33 ha i.e. smaller than 26.33 ha or 0.27 percent less than in 2009. The number of declared farmers in 2011 was 329, i.e. by 30 farms or 9.12 percent less than in 2009. Ecological farming is relevant to protected areas. The article analyzes the Krekenava RP and Naujamiestis subdistrict’s farms applying ecological farming tools. The analysis of the 2009- 2011 period showed that the declared areas in Krekenava RP have decreased, and the area of farms applying organic measures has increased by 81.69 hectares (nearly 2.5 times). The number of farmers applying organic farming measures in Naujamiestis subdistrict has increased twice and 12 farms i.e., 3.63 per cent of the declared ones had organic farms in 2011, the analyzed area was increased by 581.55 hectares or 3 times.

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.

This study aims to develop a methodology for determining and calculating the limit size of agricultural land plots that can be leased by individuals and legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The article substantiates agricultural production after the current long-term lease terms end. The basic condition is the formation of land use, in which there is a close dependence on conditions and factors of production, where land, material resources, and labour are in certain proportions and balanced. The main criteria for determining the limiting sizes of land are: land area, leased to a single entity should not exceed 1/3 of the area of farmland rural district specific administrative area, and the physical person no more than 15% of the area of agricultural enterprises of the same specialization. Emerging land uses should be subject to zonal specialization by natural and agricultural zoning; take into account the minimum thresholds for the area of crop rotation in the crop production sectors and the size of livestock in herds of different types of livestock by the breed composition in the livestock industry.

In Ukraine, intensive agricultural use involves a significant area of land with degraded and unproductive soils, which is economically impractical and ecologically dangerous. Part of the land was impacted by military activities. One of the tasks of sustainable development in Ukraine is to stop the process of land degradation, achieve a neutral level of land cover degradation, and promote the restoration of their productivity. This can be achieved by growing energy crops on degraded soils. Energy crops can grow on infertile soils and accumulate a significant amount of biomass, which is an important argument in favour of the development of green energy. The purpose of this study is to determine the specifics of planning work on the phytoremediation of degraded lands when using energy plants and the subsequent production of fuel pellets and briquettes. The focus is on measures to comply with the requirements for the content of pollutants in solid biofuels, which will be made from energetic plants used in the process of phytoremediation of degraded soils. The ratio of pollutant concentrations in soil and plants to their maximum permissible concentration in biofuel is proposed to be used at phytoremediation planning. This study substantiates recommendations for planning the phytoremediation of soils impacted by military activities using energy plants. These recommendations, in particular, concern: the choice of plant species; estimates of the duration of the phytoremediation process; application of precision farming methods in phytoremediation of lands; use of stochastic models of the phytoremediation process.

The purpose of the article is to consider the features of the anthropogenic impact on agricultural land in the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK). The article deals with the current problem of agricultural land degradation, and desertification in Kazakhstan, where one of the causes is the anthropogenic activities of the population and the aridity of the country's climate. Most of the territory of Kazakhstan is located in conditions highly vulnerable to anthropogenic desertification when in combination with natural factors of desertification the ecological situation is sharply deteriorating. Another cause of land degradation is urbanization and intensive degradation of desert habitats — unsystematic road network, regulation of river flows, illegal cutting of saxaul for firewood for sale. As a result of urbanization and intensive agricultural development of the foothill strip in the south and east of the country, the natural vegetation cover is highly disturbed. Roads, pipelines, and power lines, which are being laid at an increasing rate, have a great impact on the fauna. The area of land occupied by mining enterprises is steadily growing. In the last 10 years, the areas of oil and gas extraction, development of uranium ores, etc. in Western Kazakhstan, the Eastern Caspian Sea region, the Betpakdala desert, etc. have been sharply increasing. As a result of insufficiently thought-out land management from water erosion 5.6 million hectares of arable land was affected and grain yield was reduced by 20–30%. Degradation of agricultural lands, including pastures, is 30–50% and higher % in 9 of 14 regions of Kazakhstan. The use of the existing model of agricultural development of raw materials leads to inefficient economic development and constantly increasing pressure on ecosystems. The soil in Kazakhstan is very vulnerable, as it is comprehensively affected by various anthropogenic factors that lead to the constant deterioration of its quality. Soils near the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea are subjected to the most intensive degradation, as wind erosion is widespread there.

The purpose of the article is to consider the institutional foundations of the rational use of agricultural land in a multicultural economy. The formation of land use is faced with the acute problem of organizing a sustainable competitive land use, ensuring a high level of marketability of production and a sufficient level of profitability in conditions of the developing land market. This article discusses the rational use of agricultural land in a multicultural economy, taking into account structural and resource indicators. The efficiency of land use in farms with different land ownership depends on increasing labour productivity, strengthening the economic regime, increasing the intensification of production, using internal reserves and agricultural production opportunities, and, especially, rational use of land. The greatest efficiency of production and use of land has been achieved in large agricultural formations, where high-performance equipment is used, crop rotations are observed, and there is greater availability of credit resources, subsidies, and leasing. The monitoring data of the Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics for 1.01.2020 indicate that 93.7% of peasant farms have a land area of up to 500 hectares. To the greatest extent, small-earth peasant farms have become widespread in the southern region, where the share in the total number of up to 50 hectares is 90.1%, while in the northern region only 8.1%, central — 3.9%, and western — 11.3%. In this regard, the tasks of preserving productive agricultural lands, and optimizing arable land and acreage in terms of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of land become a priority. The solution to these tasks is connected with the improvement of technologies for maintaining and increasing the bio-productivity of agricultural lands, the development of technologies for rational land management, land use, and land protection, the creation of effective organizational and legal mechanisms for managing agricultural lands, as well as the development of state monitoring of agricultural lands. Optimization of land use in farms and agricultural enterprises of based on the proposed methodology, taking into account state support measures, will create a basis for a new stage in the development of land reform and will create incentives for the effective use of agricultural land.