The scientific problem addressed by the article is the lack of the ways for identification and solution of the issues of financial autonomy in rural municipalities. The aim of the article is to identify the problem areas of financial autonomy in Lithuanian rural municipalities. The problem areas of financial autonomy in rural municipalities have been identified under the methods of scientific literature analysis, document analysis, and statistical data analysis, and comparative analysis. The problematics of definition of the phenomenon of financial autonomy of rural municipalities has been noticed; problem areas of expenditure, revenue, financial transfers and borrowing in the municipalities have been identified. The empirical study of the data on 50 Lithuanian rural municipalities reflecting their respective financial autonomy in the period 2014-2018 (municipality revenue structure, revenue per capita, the dynamics of the share of the personal income tax (PIT)) revealed that the major share of the revenues of rural municipalities is collected by means of the PIT. There are four donor municipalities in Lithuania – Vilnius city, Kaunas city, Klaipėda city and Neringa municipalities – with their PITs used to support rural municipalities. The central authorities of Lithuania apply inter-budgetary reallocation of funds in order to introduce the financial equalization measures to adjust for the unequal allocation of potential financial resources between the municipalities with the ultimate objective of eliminating the territorial, social and economic disparities between the municipalities. However, the revenue and expenditure remain unequalized between the municipalities.

The article is devoted to the problem of gender inequality on rural areas and argued the necessity of forming gender sensitive rural development policy. Based on existing theories of institutionalism, the authors characterized gender as a social institute, forming the structure of rural society. The importance of gender equality for progressive rural growth of rural areas, effective use of women’s human capital in development of rural communities is underlined. Methodological frameworks of research are formed on the basis of rural development, gender economy and institutional theories. Adopted methodological approach of United Nations Development Program to gender inequality index calculation is used for integrated evaluation the gender inequality in reproductive health, political empowerment, and economic activity on labor market in rural areas. Research results indicate permanent character of the gender inequality problem in rural society and it dependence from situation in rural economy system. Gender asymmetries in economic activity and educational attainment of rural population, it participation in political initiatives and decision-making, demographic processes caused the regional differentiation of gender inequality problem. Indicated gender problems are characterized as the challenges for growth of rural areas and should be taken into account in the process of forming rural development policy, transforming it from gender neutral to gender sensitive. Key points of such a policy are implementation of the gender mainstreaming concept in rural development policy; forming an inclusive model of rural economy development and social cohesion; diversification of rural labor market; stimulating transfer of knowledge and innovation.

Carbon sequestration is crucial to mitigate climate changes, therefore it is important to have accurate estimates of carbon pools in the forest. So far, data on carbon pools in old-growth forests are very scarce, therefore aim of the study was to assess the carbon pools in old-growth Scots pine stands on organic soil and carbon concentration in deadwood of different decay classes in Latvia. Carbon content in deadwood was test in samples, collected in 26 randomly selected over mature, unmanaged stands across Latvia (five samples per decay class and tree species). Carbon pools were assessed in 38 sample plots (size 500 m2) in five Scots pine stands on wet organic soil (Caricoso- phragmitosa forest type) at the age of 167 to 203 years. Mean carbon concentration in deadwood across all species and decay classes was 46.6±1.57%. For aspen it did not change with progressing decay was found, but increase was observed for Scots pine, Norway spruce and birch. For these species difference in concentration between first three (more fresh) and last two decay classes (mean 45.9±0.9% and 49.9±1.6%, respectively) was statistically significant. Old-growth Scots pine stands on peat soils had rather large amount of deadwood: 100.6 ± 74.7 m3ha-1. However, its share in total carbon storage (290.0 ± 57.9 t ha-1) was small and most of carbon (57%) was found in soil. Mean annual carbon storage in tree biomass and deadwood decreased with stand age; its absolute value was similar in over-mature and mature (101-120 years) stands.

Initial density to large extent determined the stand development thus is crucial to ensure efficient transfer of genetic gain in forestry. Lower density may reduce the stand establishment costs, but also impact the stem quality and standing volume. Very limited information exists about older sparse plantations, therefore aim of the study was to characterize the forest inventory parameters of low-density Norway spruce (Pice abies (L.) Karst.) stands. Data were collected in two planted, un-thinned, 47 year old, pure stands in central part of Latvia (56⁰N, 25⁰E) with initial density 600 and 1600 trees ha-1, growing on fertile mineral soil. Even the sparsest stand (600 trees ha-1) had standing volume that was not significantly different from the average in Norway spruce forests in similar conditions at the age of 80 years (294±28.8 and 318±18.7m3ha-1, respectively), based on National Forest Inventory data. Mean height (21-22 m) and length of branch-free part (<1 m) as well as diameter of the thickest branch in bottom 2m of the stem (<2 cm) and proportion of trees with stem cracks (4%) was not affected by initial stand density. Mean breast height diameter decreased and lengths of dry-branch section increased with increasing initial stand density. The proportion of browsed trees was smaller in sparser stand (23% vs. 31%). Notably lower initial density of planted stands than currently required (2000 trees ha-1) can be used while avoiding negative impact on forest inventory parameters.

Today, economic conditions in the market encourage farmers to look for ways to produce quality produce at a low cost without polluting the environment. This leads to the search for new technologies that make it possible to strike a balance between criteria such as animal welfare, environmental protection and the cost of production. The research carried out reveals a new approach to housing conditions, constructional and technological solutions. Cowshed ground and the surrounding soil temperature fluctuations have a seasonal nature, as the Lithuanian climate is characterized by temperature change in individual seasons. The cowshed experimental studies show that a significant influence on the ground soil temperature field has the animal radiant heat that transmits not only in the air but also on the ground soil through the floor. The highest temperature of the analyzed soil during the cold season is under the floor of the bearing housing. The temperature relationship of the floor of the bearing housing and the ground soil is especially evident in the coldest winter period. The cowshed floor and surrounding soil temperature measurements showed that the soil temperature field is in a constant dynamic state. The heat transfer, occurring between the outside of the building and the soil under the building as well as at the floor installed over them, is influenced by the external temperature regime.

The aim of the study is to identify and describe community development approaches particularly emphasizing community-led local development as it dominates in the European Union as part of the rural development policy. The research is based on the literature review on community development approaches and community involvement in rural development. The most frequently used approaches are the following: community-led local development, community-led development, community driven development, community capacity building asset-based community development, and community economic development. The author concludes that the involvement of communities in development processes is promoted through specific programs implemented by policy makers and initiatives by communities and non-governmental organizations. Community involvement in development is influenced by many factors, such as democratic traditions and societal experience, the distribution of power and the exchange of knowledge between the social agents involved in development processes, the availability of resources and the skills to use them. Community projects are another way in which local agents can participate in improving the quality of life and solving local problems.

In order to be innovative in a rural area, it is necessary to act in an extraordinarily cooperative fashion, partly because the people living there know each other well, but also because they want to remain there, share their lives with the neighbours and do not simply change homes to start fresh in another part of town, as it happens in larger cities. The appropriate support of informational management regarding cooperative behaviour is in the focus of this paper. Our selection of research methods includes the execution of study projects to the subjects of innovation, It- and Information Management for an cooperative network, the development of an app to encourage young people to stay in the pertaining village, to the publishing of four books concerning communication and cooperation on the basis of original research, surveys, discussions with residents, meetings with the management of small enterprises as well as with the administration and colleagues of universities and the evaluation of the collected data through statistical methods and processes. We have found that the introduction of regular meetings of a variety of people with the task to think about new ideas and to decide on which one will be realized first, to give support in different ways before, during and after the project conclusion in combination with suitable Information Management is able to reduce the fear of digitalization and bind the focused power of concentration to the project. In conclusion we find that it is possible to augment the communal mind set to be innovative and creative in order to make rural living more pleasant.

The research paper discusses the growing importance of rural tourism and community based development as a means of sustainable regional development. Growing number of international visitors in Georgia, as well as high agriculture dependence of local population, requires the Government to have a clear long-term strategic vision for tourism and rural development policies. Understanding of the local community role in the sustainable tourism development will enhance the decentralization processes. Experience of developed countries like Italy and German, Check republic, New Zealand, etc. shows that in the wake of the emergence of rural tourism, many countries changed and harmonized policies that reflected modification in national regulations and development strategies. The Georgia’s favorable climate and soil have historically shaped agriculture one of its most productive economic sectors. Nevertheless, nowadays the sector does not provide favorable economic benefits to the local population. As a promising component, research paper identifies rural tourism as a central stimulator for agriculture sector adding strength to a traditional poor rural economy. Analysis of various existing policy initiatives in Georgia shows urgent need for harmonization of policy documents and local community involvement.

Sewage sludge is a rest product deriving from the wastewater treatment plants. It is rich in nutrients and essential elements. Therefore sludge on-land utilisation can create an added value by recovering energy from biomass produced on marginal lands. However, widespread on-land recycling of sewage sludge might be limited due to high heavy metal content. Health organisations show an increasing concern about the risks posed to the environment and human health as many countries worldwide already are facing the heavy metal contamination problem. In the scientific literature it can be found, that high total heavy metal content is not directly related to an intensive metal uptake by plants. In this study samples were collected from three woody plant species (black locust, silver birch and aspen) growing directly on the sewage sludge in a storage site near Kaunas, Lithuania. Heavy metal content was detected separately in the leaves, stems and roots. It was determined that nearly all analysed heavy metals (lead, chromium, nickel, copper and zinc) were accumulated within normal range despite high total concentrations in the growing media, and only cadmium was accumulated at elevated concentration. Based on bioaccumulation factor, aspen could be considered as a Cd-accumulator and used for phytoremediation purposes.

By overviewing the developmental trends of Lithuanian cities, rapid growth in the urbanization of smaller suburb areas is observed. The aim of the research is to determine the factors impacting the urbanization of rural areas. The built-up areas of Kaunas district municipality and factors impacting their distribution are the object of this research. The largest built-up areas are in the subdistricts where cities are deployed as well as in subdistricts having the best living and recreational circumstances. When conducting the research, factors impacting the distribution of the built-up areas have been analysed.In Kaunas district municipality, beneficial circumstances for the urbanization development exist since the population growth in the last 7 years corresponds to the optimistic scenarios projected in the general plan. It has been determined that 3 factors have the greatest impact on the built-up areas: the area of the subdistrict itself, the distance to the centre of the region and the market value of the land.