Relevant resources for biomass energy production are cereal straw residues and emergent vegetation from wetlands. This bulk herbaceous biomass is a material with low density. Density of briquetted straw and reed has been increased from 60 kg mE-3 to 1000 kg mE-3. The storage, dosage and mixing of biomass bulk materials before compacting are necessary, which requires working knowledge of the bulk properties of materials. The angle of repose of straw, reed and peat particles was investigated. It was stated that angle of repose of straw and reed varies between 45-55 degrees. The angle of repose of peat particles varies between 37-50 degrees. The stress ratio between horizontal and vertical stress is important for equipment design. This ratio was investigated for different size particles of straw, reed and peat. Stress ratio of straw particles varies between ~ 0.6-0.71.

The processing of milk in dairy companies produces a certain amount of wastewater and liquid wastes. During the treatment process of such wastes sludge is accumulated in treatment facilities. The sludge is a rather valuable soil fertilizer; however, apart from plant available nutrients, it also contains large amounts of pollutants. The paper analyzes the quality of wastewater treatment process performed in treatment facilities of dairy companies, and specifies the amounts of plant available nutrients contained in sludge accumulated during the treatment process of wastewater and liquid wastes. The amounts of heavy metals contained in sludge are compared with their maximum allowable concentrations determined in the environmental requirements for soil fertilization (Aplinkosaugos reikalavimai..., 2001). On the basis of the study results and normative documents of environment protection, the article presents optimal rates and regime for sludge fertilization as well as analyzes the agro-technical and qualitative characteristics of sludge spreaders made at the Water management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture and used during the technological process of fertilization.

According to EU Water Framework Directive, anew model of land reclamation management and financing will be developed. Taking into consideration the high vale of state investment required to ensure a steady work of land reclamation systems, it is important to reject the funds allocated on an equality principles and to give preference to the regions where the maintenance, rehabilitation and repair of these structures is more effective. The discussion concerning the allocation of state funds is elaborated in this paper. On the basis of statistical analysis, natural and economical regional differences were evaluated. Four scenarios of the allocation of special subsidies from state budget are submitted for approval. When modelling the financing results based on the regional distribution methodology, the changes in base financing indices are under discussion.

As the result of the studies on the condition of protective belts of drainage channels (PB) have shown, due to improving maintained and mechanical damaged protective belts large amounts of erosion products contained in surface water inflows the channel bed. Disorderly condition of protective belts does not correspond to the requirements of environment protection. Mechanical damages are often related to unsustainable human activity in the adjacent zone of a drainage channel. According to the principles of soil occurrence in the channel bed, four groups of damages might be distinguished: soil entrance into the channel during the tillage of a protective belt; inflow of washout products from the basin; scours of protective belts and washout of turf flumes of surface water discharge. The most frequent damages enhancing the washout of flumes and inflow of erosion products are total or partial tillage of the protective belt of a drainage channel. From the point of view of erosion process, the inflow of erosion products from the basin is considered as the most dangerous damages, which is inevitable when the width of protective belt is insufficient, particularly in places with deep turf flumes arranged.

The paper presents study results on nutrient leaching in crop rotation fields where slurry was applied. The studies were carried out within the period of 2001-2003. As the study results have shown, phosphorus (P) concentrations much depend on drainage runoff. Increasing drainage runoff resulted in decreased P concentrations (r=0.7). P leaching also depends on the precipitation amount (r=0.83). Higher precipitation rates resulted in more intensive P leaching. P leaching more depended on the drainage runoff and the type of cultivated crops rather than on fertilization rates. P leaching also depends on the precipitation amount (r=0.83). Higher precipitation rates resulted in more intensive P leaching. P leaching more depended on the drainage runoff and the type of cultivated crops rather than on fertilization rates. P leaching decreased when higher amounts of phosphorus were accumulated in crop yield; the mineralization process of vegetative residuals that were left in the test field enhanced more intensive P leaching. When slurry was applied on crops of the test field, P concentrations never exceeded maximum allowable rates determined in normative documents of the environment of Lithuania. From the point of view of the environment protection, it is more expedient to apply slurry in spring because in this season of the year the leached amount of total P input into the soil is 37.5% less compared to its leached amount when slurry is applied in autumn.

The studies were carried out in two control profiles of the Graisupis ditch excavated 40 years ago and situated at the distance of 2.4 and 4.8 km from the outlet in the land of intensive farming in Kedainiai district. The study object contained mineral loam/sandy-loam soils on the flat relief. The areas of catchments in control profiles were 12.1 and 5.9 square km, the largest discharges of spring floods were 3.4 and 1.6 m**3sE-1. Cross-sectional parameters, grass characteristics and flow parameters were measured under the conditions of different discharges (6 replications in each control profile during the vegetation period and 4 replications in spring when the channel bed is clean). As the study results show, roughness coefficient of the grass-cowered channel bed increased up to 21 times, water tables were observed to be 20-40 cm higher, the outlets of the drainage were flooded up. Considering the average grass indices determined in control profiles, grass hydraulic resistance was calculated according to 4 formulas based on the scheme when grass cover resistance is estimated as the total resistance of separate obstructions. The difference of 22.3% between calculated results and natural measurements was determined. The formula estimating grass cover parameters as well as flow regime determined to be most suitable.

The studies were made on the surface water and groundwater sources, the existing and future water production yields of the Riga city. The forecasts about water demand in Riga by year 2010 are estimated as 200 000 m**3 dE-1, with a variation coefficient of 1.13. Total water yield is estimated as 410 000 m**3 dE-1, with a storage coefficient of 2.05, which is considered as sufficient. It is proposed that in future 50% of drinking water for Riga will be abstracted from groundwater and 50% will be produced in the Daugava surface treatment plant.

Latvia has become a fully-fledged Member State of the European Union (EU) and now is a part of the global integration processes. The EU has set a goal to form a knowledge-based society and to become a region with a dynamic economy. For this reason it is necessary to increase scientific research and innovation capacity. The scientific potential is characterized by adequate supply of materials, facilities and equipment. It is a precondition for any kind of productive scientific activity. It must be noted that equipment, along with materials and resources necessary for their maintenance and operation in scientific institutes and by groups of scientists, has not experience any significant improvement since the Soviet period. Since 1990, budgetary funding for science has been sufficient to ensure a mere survival. In 2004, Ministry of Education and Science, together with scientific institutions, drafted the National Programme "Support for Modernization of the Scientific Infrastructure in the State Research Institutions". The funding made available through the EU Structural Funds can be used for purchasing new scientific equipment for the state research institutions.

Before Latvia initiated the transition to market oriented economies, large collective units, which had the right to use the land, used most of the land but were not necessarily the landowners. This situation provided a special starting point for the return to the market economy in the agricultural sector. The government of Latvia decided to implement restitution of land ownership rights to former owners basing on historical boundaries as a method to privatise and open the land market. There were two processes going on at the same time: the restitution of private ownership rights to land, and the break-up of collective productive units. The restitution processes are the starting point for the development of land markets. Moreover, it represents a necessary condition to open land market. However, the place at which this land market opening is occurring depends on the way each government implemented the land reform.

The necessity of the research is to determine by the fact in Latvia there is a strong growth in bank credit to the private sector like in several transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Its implications for macroeconomic development and financial stability can be ambiguous. The aim of the research is to find possible scenarios for positive credit (to private sector) growth implications for macroeconomic development and financial stability in Latvia. Attainment of the objective comprises analysis of available statistical data about Latvia, identification of factors affecting bank credit growth following up some recent researches and modelling scenarios how the credit growth could facilitate further economic development in Latvia. This paper presents only recent trends in bank credit to the private sector in Latvia and evaluates some of the factors affecting these trends. It does not provide updated practical models and scenarios because the research has been started only recently.