Balance of Land Resources

a system of indexes characterizing changes in the composition of land resources. In the USSR such a balance is drawn up annually on each kolkhoz, sovkhoz, and other enterprise engaged in agricultural production. The balance of land resources reflects the availability of all exploitable resources (including forests, brushlands, and the like) as of November 1 of the preceding year; increases through additions from other land users and from the state land fund and through transfers from other types of exploitable resources; decreases through allocation for state and public needs, changes to other types of exploitable resources, use for construction on the farm, and so on; and the availability of all types of exploitable resources as of November 1 of the accounting year. The balance of agricultural exploitable resources alone (arable land, perennial plantings, fallow land, hayfields, and pastures) is drawn up for every administrative raion, oblast, krai, autonomous and Union republic and for the country as a whole. These data, summarized in a balance table, are included in the collection USSR Land Fund, published annually by the USSR Ministry of Agriculture.