PERFORMANCE OF SMALLHOLDER TEAK PLANTATIONS (TECTONA GRANDIS) IN XISHUANGBANNA, SOUTH-WEST CHINA

Teak is the most important high grade wood cultivated in plantations, representing 7% of tropical hardwood plantations. Due to its perceived value and fast growth rate, teak may be a suitable complement in smallholder land management systems diversifying production and income base for farmers. This paper presents performance data of smallholder teak stands in South-West (SW) China and compares them with data on similarly aged plantations and smallholder teak stands on a global scale. To that end we analysed a set of 18 smallholder stands in SW China and conducted a literature review on comparable studies. Unfortunately, our survey showed remarkable lack of published data. Besides general references stating quality problems in smallholder stands we could not find a single study presenting detailed analysis. Smallholder teak stands in SW China showed ambivalent results. While the average growth rate was high, and, from an international perspective, ranged in the upper end of similarly aged plantations, stem shape and quality were poor, which would negatively affect grading of stems after harvest. Therefore, although teak might contribute to the diversification of smallholders’ product portfolio, an active management would be required to realise the economic potential of the timber.