The objective of this study was to analyse changes in the land use patterns of agricultural land and
forests in Polish and Lithuanian trans-border rural areas. A studied territorial complex comprises two Polish
voivodships (Warmia and Mazury, Podlasie) and two Lithuanian counties (Marijampole and Alytus). The
principal research sites were Polish counties (Polish: powiat, the second-level unit of local government and
administration in Poland) and Lithuanian municipalities (Lithuanian: savivaldybe, the second-level unit of local
government and administration in Lithuania), which represent corresponding territorial units in the respective
national administrative structures. The analysed dataset covers the period of 2005–2010 and supports the
identification of changes in the land use structure of farmland and forests which have taken place since the
introduction of political and economic transformations in Poland and Lithuania. The dynamics and direction of
changes were compared against different historical and economic backgrounds to assess the prevailing trends
in land use profiles in both countries.