2.1. Study area
The study area (Fig. 1) is located in the northern part of Jordan, over an area of 1400 km2 from Mafraq to Irbed, which is the main source of surface water for the country. The elevation of the study area ranges from 310 to 1022 m above sea level. The Badia region, which covers large part of the study area, is the main region for livestock production in Jordan, and the income of many people depends on these rangelands. Facing a loss of their livestock, many of the farmers in Badia tend to move into the cities looking for work thus putting more pressure on urban areas. In the area, heavy withdrawal of groundwater, rapid urbanization and industry growth has resulted in accelerating land degradation and reduction of available water resources. Most of the area is threatened from high rates of soil loss by wind and water, which can lead to desertification. The LULC mapping of the study area revealed changes that include reduction of irrigated areas from 9 % in 1992 to 7.7 % in 2009, and growth of urban areas which nearly doubled between 1992 and 2002. Additionally, maps of LULC showed that the open rangeland is about half of the area in 2009, increasing from 38% in 1992 to 48% in 2009, indicating that the land use of the area is changing from agricultural to non-cultivated lands. The major changes in the land use in the study area were in the mixed rain fed areas, decreasing from 24.6% of the study area in 1992 to 13.9 % in 2009. This decline also reflects the frequent drought and rainfall irregularity in the last two decades.