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case_images: Causes and livelihood outcomes of landscape changes.
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case_images: More importantly, tea farming has provided a viable livelihood option for the disadvantaged groups, including the elderly (esp. more than 65 years old), the slightly handicapped, the chronic patients, the unemployed person (esp. returning from urban areas to hometown), and the rural unmarried middle-aged and aged men, because management of tea plantations do not need professional skills and high-intensity work (Fig 1). Living standards of smallholders who own tea plantations have been improved owing to comparatively high incomes (Fig 1). Stable and high economic benefits derived from tea plantations have promoted the upgrade of rural households' livelihood assets, especially the houses, which in turn propelled the livelihood sustainability (Figs 1 and 7).
case_images: Primary causes of smallholders' land use changes in tea plantation.
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case_images: We found that more than 90% of respondents' livelihood independence, which was measured by the question "if your living costs could be mainly covered by tea incomes? (yes = 1, no = 0)", was substantially promoted due to the tea management (Fig 6).
case_images: Livelihood improvement attributed to tea plantation.
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case_images: Stable and high economic benefits derived from tea plantations have promoted the upgrade of rural households' livelihood assets, especially the houses, which in turn propelled the livelihood sustainability (Figs 1 and 7).