CNH: Climate Effects on Tea Quality and Socioeconomic Responses

Impact of Climate Variability and Markets on Tea Quality and Associated Farmer Livelihoods and Adaptations Links CLAS IT College of Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Florida Projects Current Projects CNH: Climate Effects on Tea Quality and Socioeconomic Responses This project focuses on why and how tea quality is vulnerable to changing climate conditions and how changes in quality may affect farming communities and land-use strategies. Tea production and consumption systems are used as a case study to explore complex interactions among human and natural systems. This interdisciplinary research project will examine how links among tea agroecosystems, markets, and farmers are impacted by increased climate variability and the resulting socioecological feedbacks.This project will provide new information and insights regarding climate effects on crop quality and to facilitate societal actions towards sustainability of agro-ecosystems and farmer livelihoods. Although this project focuses on tea production and related environmental conditions in China, it will yield insights that have value in exploring the complex relationships between quality-related market-driven forces and changing natural conditions for a broad range of environmentally sensitive resource-related activities across the globe.