Teak is indigenous to the South and Southeast Asian countries of India, Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Thailand. The species is also well established in Indonesia on the islands of Java and Muna, but it is not clear whether this occurrence is natural or results from an introduction by Hindus in the seventh century .The area of the natural teak forests in India (Tewari, 1992), Laos (Anon., 1993), Myanmar (Pengduoang, 1991), and Thailand (Kaosa-ard, 1991) is shown below. The total amounts to 27.9 million ha.

                      A.Thailand has completely banned teak logging and concessions since 1983. The period from 1975 to 1979 saw sizable annual productions ranging from 112,000 m³ to 264,000 m³. Starting from 1980, the production gradually declined until it reached the minimum of 26,000 m³ in 1989 (a residual harvest after the logging ban (Rao, 1991).

Teak occurs within a latitudinal range of 16° to 20°N and a longitudinal range of 97° to 101°E. It is found in mixed deciduous forest throughout the northern part of the country and covers about 2,500,000 ha (Kaosa-ard, 1991). The associate species are Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Xylia kerii, Afzelia xylocarpa, Lagerstroemia calyculata and bamboo. The teak distribution pattern is discontinuous or patchy.

B.INDIA-Classification of teak forest based on rainfall

Forest type	Rainfall range (mm)	Typical examples
Very dry	< 900	Chittorgath, Ledaipur (Rajasthan); Araungabad (Maharashtra).
Dry	901-1,200	Indore, Kannod, Seoni (MP); Bauswara (Rajasthan); Nirmal (AP); Dharwar (Karnataka); Tamil Nadu.
Semi moist	1,201-1,600	Baster, Betual Chedleth, Sultan's Battery (Kerala).
Moist	1,601-2,500	Bori, Hoshangabad (MP); Allapalli (Maharashtra);N. Kanara (Karnataka); Palghat (Kerala).
Very moist	2,500 <	Bhadrawathi (Karnataka); Wynaad, MalayatturThenmala (Kerala); South Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu).

C.The forests of Myanmar are rich and diverse in flora and fauna and are ecologically complex. These complex ecological factors trigger both seed production and germination in the natural state. Some species may be fire hardy, some fire tender; some may be light demanders and others shade bearers.

Teak, for example, is relatively fire hardy, light demanding and fast growing. In the early seedling stage, surface fire may destroy above ground shoots, but the root portion will send up a new shoot again in the early rains. This process goes on for a number of years until conditions are favourable and the root is developed enough to send up vigorous shoots that can escape from ground fire damage. On the other hand, pyinkado (Xylia dolarbriformis), the second most important species, is not so fire resistant and unlike teak, it is a shade bearer.

Teak is a renewable resource and the use of wood coming from managed plantations favours a supporting development in the producing Countries while contributing to the preservation of the Earth's woodlands resources. The areas most suited for its production are the rain regions, where a dry season is followed by a very wet one, and they are located between the 10th and 25th degree of latitude North, at altitudes often reaching 7,500 metres above sea level. Teak (Tectona Grandis) was imported in Europe from the Indian Peninsula (where the best quality grows), especially from Myanmar (former Burma) and from Thailand (former Siam), since the beginning of 1800, after the discovery of its exceptional qualities for the use in the naval industry. 

A comparison of growth in breast height diameter of individual natural teak trees in Myanmar, India and Thailand is presented in Diagram 2. Teak trees from India were said to have grown in the good moist forests. Myanmar teak was from the dry upper mixed deciduous forest, while Thailand teak represented an average tree growing in its north.

Note: Warangal (India) and Myanmar teak showed better growth rates than those of Hoshangabad (India) and Thailand

 GOING GREEN...TEAK PLANTATION PROJECT

CREDIT-Management of natural teak forests - U Ko Ko Gyi and Dr. Kyaw Tint

//www.fao.org/docrep/005/ac773e/ac773e07.htm

READ MORE  //web.catie.ac.cr/conferencia_teca/presentaciones/Sesion_6_6.pdf