agriculturalland conversion in northwest iran

agricultural land conversion (alc) has been introduced as one of the most important factorsaffecting ecosystem. this type of conversion has led to several challenges in agricultural development andhuman life. monitoring alc plays a crucial role when dealing with such challenges. the main objective of thisstudywas to monitor the trend ofalc in theqazvin province located in northwest iran from 1990 to 2010 usingremote sensing data. the results showed that 44,845 ha of agricultural lands (3.03%of the total agricultural landsof the province) were converted to non-agricultural lands, of which, 32,033 and 10,243 ha (2.16% and 0.69% oftotal agricultural lands of the province), were respectively transformed to saline lands and urban areas andinfrastructures. our projection for 2030 shows that among other uses, the conversion of agricultural lands to thesaline lands and urban areas and infrastructures will stay most likely. however, the conversion probability forirrigated and orchard lands to urban areas and infrastructures will be more than the saline lands while theconversion probability for dry and rangelands to the saline lands will be more than urban areas and infrastructures.