Growth of wild rattans in Cambodia and Laos: Implications for management

We studied the annual stem growth of six species of wild rattans over a 4-year period in permanent plots located in Prek Thnot, Cambodia and Ban Sopphouane, Laos. The rattan species studied in Cambodia included Calamus palustris, C. tetradactylus, C. viminalis, Myrialepis paradoxa, and Plectocomia pierreana; C. solitarius was studied in Laos. We collected a total of 1206 growth measurements over the 4-year period. There were significant differences in growth between species, with the M. paradoxa and P. pierreana exhibiting the fastest growth (229.7 ± 29.8 cm year−1 and 221.5 ± 17.9 cm year−1, respectively) and C. tetradactylus exhibiting the slowest growth (78.3 ± 4.3 cm year−1). Stem height and measurement year also had a significant effect on growth. Growth projections revealed that the time required to produce a commercial cane varied from 2 to 8 years. Analyses of sample size requirements using group means and variances showed that a reasonable estimate of wild rattan growth can be obtained by marking and measuring 50-60 sample plants, over half of which are of pre-commercial size. Using growth rates to guide the annual harvest of rattan in Southeast Asia would be a major step forward to insure a continual supply of this valuable non-timber resource.