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Landcover categories with a special emphasis on biomass were mapped in an area within 100 km radius of the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, using the technique of interpretation of satellite imagery acquired in the mid-1990s. They were then compared with the imagery acquired in the mid-1980s. The changes in landcover were not only from natural to manmade, but also in the reverse order. The manifestations indicate a process of conversion of non-agricultural land to agricultural land which were later given up. The biomass per unit area of each category was estimated using groundbased measurements. The category-wise and total biomass of the study area were computed and the annual increment of the biomass was derived. The residual portion of the annual increment after estimating the rural requirement was found to more or less match with the estimated annual wood and fuelwood intake of the metropolis. It is inferred that the pressure of the demand for fuelwood on the forest and non-forest biomass is not great, but the pattern of landcover changes attracts interests because of its socio-economic significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]