Tuka dryland forests play a vital role in providing various benefits to communities including environmental protection and economic opportunities. Despite its importance, the Tuka dryland forest is experiencing significant changes in forest cover and rapid loss, which threaten the sustainability of pastoral livelihoods in the region. Hence, it is vital to understand the trends of forest cover patterns. This study aimed to examine the trends in forest cover change from 1992 to 2022, the factors driving these changes, and the impact on livelihoods. We utilized a combination of three Landsat satellites: Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) for 1992, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM +) for 2002 and 2012, and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) for 2022. Maximum likelihood supervised classification technique was employed to classify the LULC types. Beside geospatial data, 129 household survey, key informants interview (18), field observation were undertaken to identify the drivers of forest cover change and the implication on pastoral livelihood. The results showed that the Tuka dryland forest had undergone substantial changes during the last 30 years. Between 1992 and 2022, we observed a notable decline in the grassland and forest cover, resulting in an overall loss of 236% (7463 ha) and 100% (2483 ha), respectively. Conversely, agriculture/settlement and bush/shrub land registered an increase of about 87.2% and 66%, respectively, over the 30-year study period. Socioeconomic results showed that the majority of participants believed that overgrazing, agricultural expansion, bush encroachment, population growth, settlement, and poor economy are major causes for LULCC. Participants also perceived that the changes in forest cover resulted in a decrease in animal productivity, household income, fodder production, and water source. In conclusion, LULC changes has contribute a considerable disruption to the Tuka dryland forest and had an impact on the pastoral livelihood. We suggest appropriate management measures to mitigate the impact of disturbances on forest cover and its impact on the pastoral livelihoods.