Investigating the phenological patterns of Gmelina arborea populations in diverse environmental conditions of Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Gmelina arborea, a deciduous tree native to India, exhibits intriguing variations in events under different environmental influences. This study delves into the species' events, flowering, fruiting, leaf initiatiin, and leaf fall which are crucial life cycle stages, influenced by climate and environmental factors. Despite its significance, there is lack of comprehensive research on Gmelina arborea's phenology in Madhya Pradesh which represents central India. This study addresses this gap, exploring the impact of seasonal rainfall, temperature fluctuations, and site-specific conditions on the species' events. The research area, characterized by tropical and sub-tropical climates, offers a unique setting to analyse the intricate interplay between environmental variables and Gmelina’s life cycle events. Observations were recorded from different populations spreading across 4 agroclimatic zones of Madhya Pradesh and composed of natural distribution as well as plantations. On the basis of observations recorded for different phases among different population, it is observed that maximum number of trees in natural populations showed flowering in January-February whereas most trees in plantations extended its flowering period up to March. At Jabalpur, Mandla, Betul locations most of the Gmelina tree sheds its leaves late up to March while a greater number of trees in plantation found to be regular in case of leaf shedding. Fruiting of Gmelina starts from mid-April to June in most of the populations but some trees of Sonaghati and Saraswahi populations fruits till mid-July. Leaf initiation was found to be the most consistent traits in all locations. Leaf fall showed considerable variation in its timing in natural populations while planted populations shed their leaves as per the cycle.