In this present study, maximum likelihood supervised classification and post-classification change detection techniques were applied to Landsat TM image acquired in 1999 and recent land use/land cover estimates from Resourcesat-2 (2013) image.Respectively, to map land cover changes in parts of Kovai and Nilgiris District, South India. A supervised classification was carried out on the two images individually with the aid of ground truth data. Using ancillary data, visual interpretation and expert knowledge of the area through GIS further refined the classification results. Post[1]classification change detection technique was used to produce change image through cross[1]tabulation. Changes among different land cover classes were assessed. However, the result of the work shows a rapid change in the study area forest land between 1999 and 2013 while the periods between 1999 and 2013 witnessed a reduction in this class. It was also observed that all the land use/land cover features are changed by natural hazards (landslide) and manmade impact (rapid growth of population and increasing industries). The main causes of land degradation in the study area are removal of vegetation. This problem needs to be seriously studied, through multi[1]dimensional fields including socioeconomic, in order to preserve the newly reclaimed land and increase food production.
