Since the opening of Lao PDR to market economy, the agricultural sector has engaged in a rapid shift from subsistence to commercial production. In the northern uplands, this shift has translated into a diversity of local land use change trajectories. This study aims at capturing the diversity of land use dynamics and understanding their driving forces and their impact on livelihoods and forest resources. For that purpose, we conducted a meta-analysis of case studies based on a review of scientific papers and grey literature. Inspired by state of the art meta-analyses of land use change, we developed an original framework based on a limited set of first-hand case studies. We selected a series of indicators of change in agriculture, livelihoods and natural assets which were coded according to various modalities. All reviewed case studies were then described through such ordinal variables and statistical analyses were conducted in order to build a typology of case studies and capture the main driving forces for land use change. As expected, physical accessibility of the study sites constitutes the single most important factor explaining local variations in land use and livelihoods. Population density, tenure rules and ethnic diversity also play important roles. Three main development trajectories emerge from the meta-analysis: a mainstream trajectory which reflects market integration and a gradual diversification of the land uses and livelihood activities, and two alternative pathways which differentiate farm investment and land use intensification in the lowlands and in the uplands.