Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the land cover change in the eastern subbasins of Lake Urmia basin through classification and statistical analyses. Results of land cover classification analysis indicated that 41.4% and 27.2% of the study area was covered by pasture land in 1976 and 2011, respectively. This significant decrease in pasture land is mainly due to the expansion of agricultural land. So that, the crop land, horticultural land and rainfed land have increased during last 35 years by 412% 333% and 672%, respectively. Trend analysis showed a significant increasing temperature trend throughout the region and an area-specific precipitation trend. The trend tests also confirmed a general decreasing trend in region streamflows that was more pronounced in the downstream stations. Finally, correlation between streamflow changes with simultaneous changes in climatic variables and land cover showed streamflow are more sensitive to changes in land cover than temperature.
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