Utilizing LANDSAT imagery to monitor land-use change and land grabbing to evaluate Human drivers factors in Babol kenar sub-basin, northern Iran.

Iranian northern forests have been damaged due to easy accessible, population increase and ets. with human-made in recent decades. Evaluating land-use changes is one of the main method to monitor and manage natural resources. The present study was conducted in Babolakrood sub-basin, Mazandaran province, northern Iran that has estimated to be 14896 hectares, with population to amount to 1521 families containing small villages.We studied land-use change and land grabbing in four periods 1966, 1994, 2003 . 2013 by cover images and LANDSAT imagery. After preparing sub-basin boundary, the process of digital and aerial images was conducted by Microstation, Erdas, ArcGIS and Autocad. Then, area alteration of arable lands, residential places and roads were compared during the four periods. The results have shown that the most area alterations raised in the first period from 1966 to 1994 as conversion of ranges and forests to arable lands. During 1966 to 2013 period, the area of 413 hectares equal to 3 percents (8.8 hectares per year) of ranges and forests reduced to other uses.