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The paper deals with climate change mitigation policies aiming at household energy savings via behavioral changes. Currently, the Lithuanian climate change mitigation policy is focused on large and expensive supply-side projects such as construction of a new nuclear power plant or carbon capture and storage. At the same time, there is a huge energy saving and GHG emission reduction potential in the household sector, which can be realized at no costs. The aim of the paper is to analyze the behavioral theories and models and their application to energy saving behavior, and to select the best climate change mitigation measures targeting at behavioral changes of Lithuanian households, with the aim to reduce GHG emissions in this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the recent changes in agricultural landuse and soil renaturalization processes in Lithuania. The paper briefly presents renaturalization research currently carried out in Lithuania and analysis of recent changes in arable land. Although renaturalization research in Lithuania is relatively young, but area of agrarian soils in Lithuania affected by renaturalization processes is huge (about 1 million ha according to year 2005 estimates). According to statistical land-use data and land-use surveys, area of arable land decreases every year, and the annual change ranges from -1% (in 1990-1991) to 10% (in 2005). Certain cycles of changes are obvious: from 1990 to 1995 the decline in arable lands was faster. There was noticeable slowdown in the period up to 2002, followed by sudden acceleration reaching its peak in 2005. During the last five years the situation has stabilized with arable land decreasing annually by 3-4%. It is believed that in different parts of Lithuania renaturalization processes currently progress quite rapidly and this trend will continue in future. Some scientists predict that with development of unconventional or even nonagrarian farming the agrarian landscape that dominated for centuries should be gradually replaced by forested landscape. Obviously, for the optimization of agrarian land use and planning of changes in it permanent long-term research is needed, from registration of annual changes to long-term monitoring of soil status. Thus the linking of causes and effects of re-naturalization processes with extent of actual changes in agricultural land and the summarized knowledge of various fields of science are preconditions for costefficient and naturally optimized soil renaturalization regulation. Pedological soil renaturalization research mainly focused on southern and south-eastern Lithuania characterised by low productivity and diverse soil cover. Studies carried out deal with a variety of potential transformations of arable land use, including grassland, afforestation, or even effects of long-term fallowing on pedological properties, soil properties change and nutrient circulation and energy, moreover, these studies also deal with bio-diversity issues. Studies at the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry have revealed that soil renaturalization significantly changes chemical and microbiological parameters of soil. The analyzed parameters include soil pH, P and ? mobile, organic carbon, total nitrogen and soil microbial properties. However, studies based on total or mobile mineral nutrients analysis, and soil organic carbon status remain largely uncovered. Complex field and laboratory studies on soil organic carbon (DOA) and nutrient content of organic and mineral forms (oNPS) by using different methods of soil renaturalization and soil carbon change prediction modelling have recently been started at the Vokė Branch of LRCAF. Previously such studies in Lithuania were only occasional, therefore now they will make an important contribution to devising scientifically based, rational and optimized land use strategy. The authors of the article summarize that in one way or another renaturalization processes have affected about 15% of the land in Lithuania, but they have been differently evaluated by specialists in different fields. Pedological renaturalization studies gain practical significance because of Lithuania's international obligations in the struggle against climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main object of the paper article is water resources of Lithuanian rivers, which were calculated using a long data series of the runoff. Water resources are based on the balance equation. This means that this equation includes only the runoff formed in the Lithuanian territory, from neighboring countries to Lithuania and through them into the sea. The average and dry annual water resources have been calculated at a 95% probability. The average perennial water resources of Lithuanian rivers are 24.844 km³ / year, of them 8.883 km³ / year is the transit from Belarus, Poland and Kaliningrad Region to Lithuania, 15.961 km³ / year is formed in Lithuania and 7.471 km³ / year are effluents through Latvia into the Baltic Sea from Kaliningrad Region into the Curonian Lagoon. The Nemunas basin floats 21.501 km³ / year to the Curonian Lagoon. The present water resources are by 4.5% less in comparison with water resources of in the year 1996. Cyclic water change is typical of the Lithuanian rivers. The Nemunas-Smalininkai hydrological station has noted 7 cycles in a long data series. The average term of a cycle is 27 years (14 years of a wet and 13 years of a dry period). The runoff of the Nemunas river differs in the duration of dry and wet periods (by about 16%). The runoff of rivers in Southeast and Western Lithuania differs by 21-23% and in Middle Lithuania by 28%. The long data series of the Nemunas-Smalininkai runoff have a negative trend because of a decrease in the last four decades. The runoff measured by this water management station consists of river runoff from the southeastern and middle parts of Lithuania. The annual runoff has a positive trend in the majority of Western Lithuanian rivers in the period 1961-2003. The minimum runoff of a dry period shows no trend in most Lithuanian rivers, except Western Lithuania where a positive trend was estimated in the period 1961-2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]