Knowledge of recent changes in land use, driving forces and implications of changes in the context of sustainable development is limited. This study analyses the changes in spatial patterns of land use including crop diversity, the drivers and implications of changes in 11 village ecosystems of southern India. Data obtained from existing maps, land survey, participatory survey and field measurements were integrated to quantify changes. Land-use dynamics at the village ecosystems level are highly interlinked to the livelihoods and anthropogenic forces as well as natural causes leading to major changes. Among the trends observed, urban influence was a major driver causing large area changes, natural causes being less significant. Other drivers included rainfall deficit, human population increase and management decisions. The impacts of changes were both short- and long-term. Implications and trade-offs were linked to the extent of land, type of change and dependence of the communities for livelihood and provisional services.