The impact of economic, social and political factors on the landscape structure of the Vidzeme Uplands in Latvia

Changes in landscape structure in a typical part of the Vidzeme Uplands in central Latvia during the 20th century are analysed and anticipated changes in the 21st century are projected. Forest areas gradually increased in the Vidzeme Uplands over the course of the 20th century. This increase was associated with several factors: the economic policy in Latvia during the 1930s, the exile of farmers in 1940 and 1949 after the Soviet occupation of Latvia, the aggregation of land into collective farms, the amalgamation of small collective farms, the formation of large-scale Soviet collective farms, and widespread land melioration. Since land reform in the 1990s, following the restoration of Latvian independence, when land-ownership was restored to the original owners or their descendants, much of the farmland in the Vidzeme Uplands has become abandoned or is used less intensively. As a result of ecological succession, by the gradual colonisation of agricultural land by shrubs and trees, the landscape structure has changed. Initially, increased landscape heterogeneity has been observed, which may later change to become a more homogeneous landscape pattern. This paper considers the current socio-economic conditions in the area and their anticipated impact on landscape structure. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.