Plantation Management
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In this section we provide you with brief descriptions of our teak management styles and some pros and cons of different types of trees. What we chose to use for number comparisons and why. For more information on teak and teak management Click on general information on teak. Due to the fact that we purchase plantations that may have been started by others our management is adjusted to get the best long term cash yield that we can out of each project.
For the best long-term (25 year) return on your money we have chosen high-density teak plantations. Using directional root technology we begin by planting 1,100 trees per hectare. This is a little more expensive in the beginning but it pays off better over the long term. The high density leads to taller, straighter trees. Directional root technology is merely a cone placed around the roots in the nursery and left there when planting which forces the roots to grow down deeper into the ground, giving the trees access to more nutrients and water throughout their life and allowing them to thrive in a higher density setting. This leads to more overall harvest at the end. We chose teak monoculture for the calculations on return on the investment although some land will be planted with greater diversity in types of trees. Underbrush is only cut back enough to maintain the trees, which helps prevent soil erosion and adds to the bio diversity of the environment. The trees are thinned at 3 to 4 years and thinned again at age 6 or 7 leaving 700 or 800 trees per hectare and then thinned again at age 10 or 11 leaving about 500 or 600 trees per hectare, the value of the trees harvested at the 10 /11 yr thinning is disputed so they are left out of our calculations. At 15 years the trees are thinned to 350/400 trees per hecatre and at 18 years they are thinned to between 220/260 trees per hectare depending on site growth capabilities and the current teak market economics. At 25 years there are several options. The trees can be thinned to about 150 trees per hectare or a complete harvest can be done. While the trees are of full commercial size at 25 years teak will continue to grow well and the percentage of hartwood will increase for another 25 to 35 years. Therefore prices, overall cash flow, and other factors such as taxes are considered when deciding when to harvest and enjoy the profits. Trees at 20 to 25 years have about 1 cumt of good wood per tree which is 220/260 cu mt per Hectare depending on the number of remaining trees. Growth rates slow down after 25 years unless the trees are thinned further to about 150 per hectare. Tree growth is continuously monitored on a set of test trees throughout each plantation to help determine the optimum timing for thinning and harvest of the trees.
Some considerations in planting a mix of trees is during harvest time it is difficult to sell a small quantity of some of the trees. Different tree species have different harvest times. Many of the other species of trees are secondary growth trees and cannot be planted until there is a forest cover with trees such as teak. Consequently the trees could not be started until the 12-year thinning, and thus will not mature till a much later date. Therefore a mixed forest management has to be thought of in an even longer term view and has to be done on a larger scale. One of the advantages of a mixed forest is that over time some of the slower growing more valuable trees can be grown. A diverse forest has greater bio diversity from an ecological point of view offering a home to a greater number of animals and plants. As the forests mature trees can be harvested every 10 years without ever cutting down the forest. With a variety of trees the odds of a pest to one particular type of tree wiping out the whole forest is reduced. Because many of the different trees need partial shade of a primary growth, a teak plantation can reclaim land that is completely barren and a diverse forest can be started as the teak matures.
Some Other Types of Trees Available
Laurel (Cordia alliodora) is one of Panama's most common softwoods whose two-tone gold-colored heartwood is used for common construction, as well as for furniture. It is mature in 8 to 10 years with yields of up to 600 board feet of marketable lumber when fully grown. Though less precious than teak at $.50 per board foot (current wholesale domestic price, un milled), laurel grows easily in many terrains, needs little maintenance and does not require pruning. Laurel is noted for its straight, tall trunks whereas black laurel, a quick-growing hardwood, requires 50% sun and 50% shade.
Other indigenous species worth considering include Roble de Sabana (Spanish oak); Cedro Espino (spiny cedar); Nispero (chicle tree); Caoba (mahogany), Cocobolo (rosewood), Criollo (ironwood)-the list goes on and on. Though most tropical hardwoods (with longer maturities than laurel) flourish best in areas of regrowing pastureland or secondary growth forests requiring a nonlinear approach to planting, it may be worth the effort to establish a true reforestation project of mixed species in these areas. Increasingly, the demand for fine hardwoods such as Nazareno (purple heart), Ron Ron (goncalo alves), Coco Mono (monkey coconut) and the like, is increasing as fewer and fewer of these mature trees are to be found in the wild.
Along all the waterways we develop a natural habitat and diverse forest with native trees and vegetation.
For a fairly complete dissertation on Teak and Teak plantation management go to the General Information on Teak Section
