The agrarian landscape and the change in its subdivision of plots

The article presents an analysis of changes in the agrarian landscape and the subdivision of its plots, using three Lithuanian municipalities as examples (Kaunas, Trakai and Šilutė). Statistical, comparative and multicriteria analysis methods were applied in the study. It was found that in all the studied municipalities, the area of the agrarian landscape was decreasing during the study period. The largest decreasing trends were in the municipality of Šilutė district, where the area covered by agrarian landscape decreased by more than 3%. At the same time, in the municipalities of Kaunas and Trakai districts, the area of agrarian landscape decreased quite evenly and did not reach 3%. It was also found that the number of agricultural holdings also decreased: by 27% in Kaunas district municipality and by over 33% in Trakai district municipality, but the area of agricultural holdings increased in all of the studied municipalities: in Kaunas district by over 5%, in Trakai district by over 37% and in Šilutė district by over 8%. The average size of a farm in Kaunas district remained rather stable, increasing by only 1%, in Šilutė district municipality the average farm size increased by more than 71% and in Trakai district municipality the tendency was the opposite, i.e. the average farm size decreased by more than 36%. The multicriteria analysis shows that the most common factors influencing changes in the agrarian landscape and its subdivision of plots vary between municipalities, but in general the following factors influence the changes in the agrarian landscape and its subdivision of plots: the land productivity score, the number of inhabitants, the distance to the centre of the city, the average size of the farms, the number of holdings, and the amount of land area occupied by bodies of water. The information collected and the results obtained show that in the municipalities analysed, the causes of change in the agrarian landscape and its subdivision of plots have a positive impact on the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas.