| Abstract [eng] |
Meteliai Regional Park, located in the southwestern part of Lithuania, is characterized by the typical rich natural features of southern Lithuania: three lakes that occupy 28% of the territory and forested areas, which cover 22% of the regional park's area. The main focus of this park is on preserving the lake-rich areas, though the forests receive less attention. In order to preserve, regulate, and strategically plan the areas of forested land, they require maintenance and knowledge about the history of past forest masses and their history. The main object of this study is to examine the change in forested areas within the territory of Meteliai Regional Park. The main goal is to analyze and reveal the change in forested areas in the territory of Meteliai Regional Park during the 20th and 21st centuries. The work is based on the hypothesis that during the planned economy period, the forestation of protected areas increased. To this end, seven objectives were set. Some of the main tasks that were set and that most revealed the results were the use of GIS tools, which allowed the digitization of maps from different periods and to actually see the obtained results. Additionally, analyses of the historical development of Lithuanian forests helped to better understand the forestation trends of Meteliai Regional Park, which are closely related to other southern Lithuanian forest areas. In order to better understand and convey all the data, the following work methods were applied: comparative analysis of literature sources, comparison of digitized data, statistical analysis of quantitative data, and the descriptive method. Using these work methods, it was possible to fully analyze and reveal the reasons why forestation decreased during different periods and why, after World War II, forestation significantly increased. It was analyzed which areas could expand their forested areas independently without human intervention and which areas have limited expansion. Also, according to the calculations performed, the forested area in Meteliai Regional Park occupies 26.5% of the territory, although all accessible sources indicate 22% forested territory. Observing the trends in forest growth, it seems that forestation will continue to increase in Meteliai Regional Park, but not at the rates seen until 1984. |
