This study was carried out to map and quantify the distribution of Prosopis juliflora andrnanalyses some impacts of the plant on the society. Moreover, it compares the land use landrncover changes, determining the rate of invasion and the vegetation characteristics of the plantrnin different land use land cover types.rnTo map the land use/land cover changes Landsat TM 1986 and Landsat ETM+ 2001 imagesrnwith supervised and unsupervised classification technique was implemented. Vegetation datarnwere collected with systematic stratification followed by random sampling technique of thernstudy area with quantitative measurements of the plant. Furthermore, semi-structuredrnquestionnaire was also used to collect data about socio-economic impacts of the plant.rnThe study revealed that P. juliflora covered 5.45% of the land in the study area in 1986 andrnhad increased to 6.75% in 2001. The highest land cover change has been observed onrnagricultural lands with an increase of 8.9% next to the dense Acacia woodlands with decreasernof 15.7% of the study area. P. juliflora has shown highest invasion in Acacia woodland andrnleast invasion around the settlements. The rate of invasion of P. juliflora was 0.081% per year.rnThe highest mean number of coppices was 5.38 + 0.27(SE) in Acacia woodlands and the leastrnwas 2.11+ 0.15(SE) in riverine forest. The highest density was 1774 coppices/ha Acaciarnwoodlands and least in riverine forests (344 coppices/ha).rnThe socio-economic study revealed that P. juliflora has both advantages and disadvantages.rnThe local people benefited from the plant in charcoal making, firewood collection and podsrncollection. The plant has also been used as shade tree around the village, control soil erosionrn(71% of the respondents), shelter for wild life (76% of the respondents), reclaimed degradedrnlands (18 % of the respondent) and decrease desertification (54% of the respondents). On thernother hand, the local people lose a great deal of money due to loss of livestock and cost ofrnmanagement of the plant. Moreover, the plant decreased the size of range lands, woodlands andrnPage ixrnfarmlands, decreased crop productivity and suppressed the growth of grasses under its canopy.rnAbout 76% of the total respondents highly recommend for its complete removal from the arearnwhile the rest did not support this.rnThe study indicates that the disadvantages of the plant out weigh the advantages at the currentrnsituation owing to improper managements and utilization of the plant in the study area. Hence,rnproper and efficient utilization of the plant products could be the best option to control furtherrninvasion of new valuable lands with P. juliflora.rnKey words: P. juliflora, Land use/land cover, socio economic impact, ecological distribution