Abstract
Teak (Tectona grandis L.) plantation management is said to be profitable, but small-scale farmers with teak plantations need to find appropriate and effective choices for plantation management because of their small plots. There have been few studies on how combinations of site quality, rotation and plant spacing affect financial evaluations of teak plantation management quantitatively. In this study, we introduced the yield table for teak plantations in Northeast Thailand, and investigated the effects of site quality with rotation (15-year and 20-year) and spacing (2 m × 4 m and 4 m × 4 m) on the financial evaluation of teak plantation management using discounted cash flow analysis. The equivalent annual incomes (EAI) and benefit/cost ratios (BCR) were negative and <1, respectively, at site indexes (SI) of 14 and 18, but increased ~2 - 3 times as SI rose from 22 (site of medium quality) to 26 and 26 to 30. The 20-year rotation was generally preferable to the 15-year one, especially at SI 22. At SI 30, 2 m × 4 m was more profitable than 4 m × 4 m for both rotations, but at SI 22, 20-year rotation with 4 m × 4 m was the most profitable, followed by 20-year with 2 m × 4 m.
Highlights
According to a technical mission of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) to Thailand, rural poverty, the main root cause of deforestation, has not been adequately addressed (Simula et al, 2006)
In terms of the equivalent annual income (EAI) and benefit/cost ratio (BCR), the settings that promoted the profitability of teak farm forestry management were 20-year rotation > 15-year, and 4 m × 4 m spacing > 2 m × 4 m
In this study, we introduced a yield table for teak plantations in Northeast Thailand published by the Royal Forest Department (RFD)-Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Science (JIRCAS) joint research project, and investigated the effects of silvicultural alternatives of site quality, rotation and spacing on the profitability of teak plantation management
Summary
According to a technical mission of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) to Thailand, rural poverty, the main root cause of deforestation, has not been adequately addressed (Simula et al, 2006). Most small-scale farmers in Thailand never considered the potential benefits of planting teak on their farms Their lack of interest is explained mainly by two factors: their need for short-term economic returns, and forestry laws that severely restrict the harvest and transport of protected species (Mittelman, 2000). In terms of Thai farmers’ approaches to forestry using the valuable indigenous tree species teak, Noda et al (2004) suggested multiple uses of their land, and Yokota et al (2009) suggested a forest future profit projection method, suitable forest planning, and the adoption of combined farm management with teak plantation to cover the no-profit period before teak harvesting. The benefits in terms of teak plantation cash flow were based on a typical harvest of teak plantation management shown by RFD on a site of average quality
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