Vegetos

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42535-019-00096-3

RESEARCH ARTICLES

Phenology, population structure and carbon sequestration potential

of Parkia timoriana: a heirloom tree in traditional Meitei homegarden
of northeast India
Ningthoujam Linthoingambi Devi1 · Dipendra Singha1 · Shri Kant Tripathi1

Received: 17 August 2019 / Revised: 15 December 2019 / Accepted: 28 December 2019

© Society for Plant Research 2020

Abstract
Parkia timoriana, a leguminous tree, is an important multipurpose species growing over the northeastern part of India. The
species has been closely associated with the livelihood of the society for its beneficial attributes, and therefore, besides its
occurrences in the wild, the species also been commonly raised in the home gardens. However, the ecology of the species
i.e., phenology, biomass and carbon sequestration potential has not been studied. Girth class distribution indicated the
species exhibit more number of individuals in the midsize girth compare to the smaller and larger girth classes. The spe-
cies showed maximum leaf flushing at the onset of rainy season (Apr–May), whereas, maximum leaf fall occurred during
Nov–Jan. Flowering and fruiting was maximum during dry months. The individuals with 30–45 cm girth size and above
showed flowering and fruiting and the individuals below this girth do not exhibit flowering and fruiting tendency. The total
biomass of P. timoriana was 2.24 t ­ha−1 and magnitude of carbon sequestration potential was 0.23 t ­ha−1 year−1. The study
suggests that a threshold level of girth size 30 cm and above would be required for the fruiting and flowering. In addition to
its multiple uses, the species has a good potential to sequester carbon.

Keywords Parkia timoriana · Vegetative and reproductive phenology · Biomass and carbon sequestration · Girth class ·
Home garden

Introduction
The tree bean, Parkia timoriana—a deciduous tree belongs
to the family Leguminosae is distributed in the tropical
zones of the world including India (Hopkins 1986). Luckow
and Hopkins (1995) have reported ten species of Parkia from
the Indo-Pacific region. The trees of Parkia are beautiful
with bi-pinnate foliage, the flower heads resemble fluffy
yellow gong-sticks, and they produce bunches of pendent.
Parkia tree produces human food and condiment in savannah
areas (Angami et al. 2017). It is one of the most common
multipurpose trees having high commercial value, grows in
backyard of houses, jhums and forests throughout north east
India. The pods of the species are consumed during its devel-
opmental stages. Mature seeds are cleaned and sundried for
* Shri Kant Tripathi
sk_tripathi@rediffmail.com
1
Department of Forestry, Mizoram University, Aizawl,
Mizoram 796004, India
future use during the off-season. With the increase in human
population, the demand for P. timoriana pods and seeds are
increasing. Hence, efforts should be made to cultivate and
manage Parkia trees in order to sustain the demand and reap
the economic benefit.
The Meitei’s (an ethnic community in Northeast India)
maintain agro biodiversity in their home garden (locally
called Ingkhol). P. timoriana (locally called Yongchak) is
an important and popular tree species for Meitei’s as cash
crop and grown mainly for its fruits, which are used for its
special delicacy as a vegetable. Both mature and immature
fruits are used for various vegetable preparations, sometimes
the flower locally called as ‘yongchak mapal’ is also used in
singju (salad). Every family used to grow at least one or two
plants for consumption and the surplus quantities of fruits
are used to ensure additional income by selling. In addition,
the species has high medicinal value particularly used for
the treatment of piles. Several studies reported nutritional
(Salam 2011; Sathya and Siddhuraju 2015), ethno-medicinal
(Rathi et al. 2012; Paul et al. 2016) and pharmacological
(Thongbam et al. 2012; Paul et al. 2016; Sheikh et al. 2016)

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uses of P. timoriana. However, the studies on ecology of the
species is not available. This study is planned to explore the
detailed ecological characteristics of the species on indi-
viduals growing in homegarden. The main objective of the
present study is to investigate vegetative and reproductive
phenology, population structure, biomass and carbon seques-
tration potential of Parkia timoriana in the traditional Meitei
homegardens of Barak valley India.
Materials and methods
Study site
The study was conducted in a village Nimaichandpur-II
(24° 60 N, 92° 61 E; 32 m AMSL) in Hailakandi district,
Assam. The village is inhabited by the Meitei community,
situated in the bank of Katakhal River. Farming is the major
occupation of this village. Field inventories were carried out
to document Parkia timoriana in the homegardens. During
the field visits, the elder members of the households were
consulted about the various uses and altering pattern of the
ecology of the species due to climate change scenario in the
northeastern region in India. The total annual rainfall of the
study area was 1960 mm and the mean monthly maximum
and minimum temperature was: 30.6 °C and 20.3 °C, respec-
tively. The climate of the study area is presented in Fig. 1,
representing three distinct seasons-summer (Mar–May),
Monsoon (June–Oct), winter (Nov–Feb).
Trees with Circumference at Breast Height
(CBH) ≥ 15 cm were recorded, marked and divided into
various CBH classes. Further, 20 trees with CBH ≥ 30 cm
were randomly selected, marked and phenological observa-
tions were made on leaf initiation, leaf-fall, flowering and
fruiting. Phenological observations were based on pheno-
logical score such as 0 for no phenophase, 1 for less, 2 for
moderate and 3 for high (Broadhead et al. 2003). Detailed
Fig. 1  Temperature and 700
Rainfall
rainfall data for the study area
(2013–14) 600
500
Rainfall(mm)
400
300
200
100
0 0
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
2013
13
Vegetos
observations were carried out at 15 days intervals over a
period of 2 years from Jan 2013 to Dec 2014. Girth incre-
ment was measured in the dry season (i.e., in the month of
November and December) annually. The mean annual girth
increment per individual tree was calculated as the following
linear measure: G2 − G1/t, where G2 is the girth of the second
year, G1 is the girth of first year and t is time in year.
The height of the recorded trees was measured using
clinometer. The aboveground biomass (AGB) was calcu-
lated using girth-biomass equations proposed by Chave
et al. (2005) and Thangjam et al. (2019) and the biomass
obtained were compared. The wood density value for the
Parkia timoriana (0.36 gm−3) species obtained using the
method of Chave (2006).
AGB = 0.0509 × 𝜌 × D2 × H
( )
where ρ wood density, D diameter, H height.
The Below Ground Biomass (BGB) includes all biomass
of live roots excluding fine roots having < 2 mm diameter
(Chavan and Rasal 2011). Biomass estimation equations
for tree roots are relatively uncommon in the literature. The
belowground biomass (BGB) has been calculated by multi-
plying above-ground biomass taking 0.26 as the root to shoot
ratio (Cairns et al. 1997; Ravindranath and Ostwald 2008).
BGB = 0.26 × AGB
The carbon storage was computed by multiplying total
biomass with constant factor 0.50 (IPCC 2006)
C = TB × 0.50
where C = carbon, TB = total biomass.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16.0. Pearson cor-
relations were performed to investigate correlation between
40
Max(temp) Min(temp)
35
30
Temperature (°C)
25
20
15
10
5
2014
Months
Vegetos
monthly phenophase activity and environmental variables
such as temperature and rainfall.
Result and discussion
The homegarden owners confirmed the socio-economic
importance of P.timoriana and its increasing demand by the
people of this region. They also stressed about the changes in
fruiting pattern of the species in the recent years and empha-
sized the varying weather pattern as the cause.
Population structure
The girth size class of P. timoriana for two consecutive years
showed a decreasing trend of the number of individuals
from smaller girth to larger girth sizes (Fig. 2). Out of 107
individuals, 73 and 70 individual trees exhibited fruiting in
first and second years, respectively. The majority of repro-
ductively active individuals were found in the girth class
30–45 cm, 45–60 cm and 60–75 cm. Maximum fruit pro-
duction was recorded in 30–75 cm during the study period.
Higher girth increments were recorded in the lower girth
classes which decrease with increase in girth class. The
maximum girth increment (9.07 cm per year) was recorded
in 15–30 cm girth class and minimum (2.1 cm per year) in
150–165 cm girth class (Fig. 3).
The higher number of individuals in the lower girth
classes compared to higher girth classes indicates a poten-
tial of the species to be used on sustained basis for longer
time by ensuring better regeneration of the species. Further,
it indicates efficient management plans of the village com-
munity to ensure longer availability of their favorite spe-
cies. Girth class frequency of P. timoriana showed skewed-
shaped population curve in our present study which indicate
an evolving or expanding population structure, which is
similar to those reported from homegarden of Barak valley
30
25
20
No.of trees
15
10
5
0 (Fig. 4). Maximum leaf flushing occurred during the rainy
CBH class (cm)
Fig. 2  Girthwise distribution of tree individuals of Parkia timoriana
10
9
CBH increment (cm)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
CBH class(cm)
Fig. 3  Average annual increment in girthsize of Parkia timoriana
North east India (Devi 2011) and Kerala (Kumar et al. 1994).
This signifies a healthy population growth in the lower girth
class due to adoption of intensive management practice by
the farmers such as controlled regeneration, space planting
along with harvesting of trees as soon as they attain a certain
size.
Most of the studies on the tree girth increments are
available for the various species of the forest ecosystems
(Weaver 1990; Sundaram and Parthasarathy 2002), how-
ever, available studies on girth increment of multipurpose
trees species growing in homegardens of the region are not
available so far to compare. A study in the homegarden of
Kerala, India recorded significantly higher average annual
tree diameter increment (2.4 cm year−1) by Chandrashekara
(2007) compared to the present study (diameter increment
1.73 cm year−1). Diameter growth rates have been reported
to vary with tree species, their age, season and microcli-
matic conditions (Ferri 1979). Diameter increment is useful
indicator of tree growth patterns and important tools for tree
management in natural and modified ecosystems.
Phenological activity of Parkia timoraina
Vegetative phenology
Parkia timoriana initiated leaf flush during pre monsoon
period (March) when temperature increased steadily which
continued throughout the favorable season. In the studied
individuals, peak leaf flushing was observed during June in
two years (1st and 2nd year) of study. The onset of rainfall
has been found to trigger the leaf flushing in the trees and the
amount of leaf flushing increases with the amount of rainfall
season (April–June). Leaf flush for Parkia timoriana was
sensitive to maximum temperature but not with minimum
temperature. Rainfall has significantly (P < 0.001) affected
the leaf initiation in Parkia, however, the effect of tempera-
ture was not significant (Table 1).
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3
leaf flush leaf fall flowering fruiting
The vegetative growth in Parkia timoriana was initiated
2.5 with rise in temperature during February–March which was
2 inconsistent with reports of Mishra et al (2006) and Das and
Events

1.5
Das (2013) from tropical moist deciduous forests of Orissa
and homegardens of Assam. Initiation of leaf flushing at the
1
end of the dry season or early rainy season (Tesfaye 2011)
0.5
could be due to joint action of increasing day length and
0
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
temperature of the area (Kushwaha 2010). Peak leaf initia-
2013 Months 2014 tion of Parkia timoriana was observed during June (mon-
soon period) as strategies of the species to take advantage
Fig. 4  Periodical changes in phenological events of Parkia timoriana of the long rainfall period to fully expand their foliage and
to photosynthesize (Singh and Kushwaha 2005). Maximum
temperature and photoperiod have been reported as driving
Table 1  Correlation coefficients between Parkia timoriana pheno- factors for leaf initiation in many tropical trees (Rivera et al.
phases and environmental factors 2002; Singh and Kushwaha 2005). It is suggested that the
Environmen- Phenophases leaf initiation was strongly influenced by the combined effect
tal factors of temperature and precipitation rather than their individual
Leaf flush Leaf fall Flowering Fruiting
effect.
Rainfall 0.828** − 0.435ns − 0.502ns − 0.646* In the post monsoon season (October–December), the
Temp 0.564ns − 0.297ns − 0.357ns − 0.769** vegetative growth activities slowdown and tree initiates leaf
fall as a strategy to survive under dry period by reducing
ns not significant
water loss from the canopy due to decreasing soil moisture
*Correlation is significant at P < 0.05
and temperature (Dhaila et al. 1995; Kushwaha et al. 2010).
**Correlation is significant at P < 0.01
Leaf fall initiation in pre-winter and winter has also been
reported from the Barak valley Northeast India (Devi and
Leaf fall occurs during the July–January with the peak Garkoti 2013). Borchert et al. (2002) have also reported
period in the month of December (Fig. 5). The leaf fall was increasing leaf age and decreasing photoperiod as the major
higher during Nov–Jan which coincides with dry season. factors for leaf fall initiation. Peak leaf fall during dry season
Individual trees did not show any difference in leaf shed- is an important adaptation strategy of the plants to minimize
ding pattern between years, however, maximum number of the effect of decreased soil moisture or increased water stress
trees was noticed leafless during dry (low rainfall) period. conditions (Yadav and Yadav 2008) especially in subtropical
Abiotic variables particularly, temperature and rainfall forests which experiences at least 2–3 dry months.
were insignificantly negatively correlated to leaf fall dur-
ing the study period (Table 1). The duration of leafless Reproductive phenology
phenophases ranged from 33 to 48 days with an average
duration of 44 ± 6 days during 1st year and 30–43 days In the present study Parkia tree grows up to 12.9 m high.
with an average duration of 37 ± 6 days during 2nd year. The species is characterized by very distinctive flowers
hanging in large heads at the end of long stalks. In general,

J F M A M J J A S O N D

1st year

2nd year

Mature leaf Leaf flush Leaf fall Leafless Flowering Fruting

Fig. 5  Average duration of various phonological events in Parkia timoriana

13
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the Parkia trees start flowering after 5–7 years of planting
through seeds. However, vegetatively propagated trees start
flowering a few years (< 5 years) after planting, generally
when they CBH 30 cm or above. Flowering in Parkia com-
monly began in early September (wet and warm) and con-
tinued till early December (dry and cold), whereas in a few
individuals it was extended till early Jan. Peak flowering of
Parkia timoriana was recorded in the month of Nov during
the study period (Fig. 5). The duration of flowering pheno-
phase ranged from 60 to 85 days with an average duration of
75 days during 2013 and 70–90 days with an average dura-
tion of 78 days in 2014. Flowering was insignificantly nega-
tively correlated with rainfall and temperature (Table 1).
Parkia timoriana fruits in early stages are soft tender and
bright green in color. On maturation, the pods turn black
with several black seeds embedded in it. Pods are formed in
clusters and found hanging at the top of stalk. The fruiting
in the Parkia trees occurred from the girth class 30–45 cm
and the maximum fruit production was recorded in the girth
class 75–90 cm during study period. The number of fruit
production per tree varied from 53 (girth size 45–60 cm) to
448 (girth size 135–150 cm) pods/trees in 1st year and 49
(girth size 30–45 cm) to 402 (girth size 90–105 cm) pods/
trees in the 2nd year during the study period. The fruit-
ing period was observed during dry season in the month
of Nov–Mar (Fig. 5), and was significantly influenced by
temperature (P < 0.003) and rainfall (P < 0.02) during the
study period (Table 1).
Flowering has been reported to be advantageous for
plants in seasonal climates for partitioning resources for both
vegetative and reproductive phases (Janzen 1974). Parkia
timoriana showed flowering immediately after leaf flushing.
The synchronization of flowering with leaf flushing has been
related to moisture, temperature and photoperiod (Kikim and
Yadav 2001). Synchronization of flowering during particular
season of annual cycle appears to be under the control of
prevailing climatic conditions (Kushwaha and Singh 2005).
Flowering during the warm wet season reflects the avail-
ability of water by different sources, for example, through
sporadic rains, absorption from soil and water stored in stem
(Singh and Kushwaha 2005). In the present study, concen-
tration of flowering in the months having combination of
climatic factors has been found to be related to wet warm
conditions of the region. It probably suggests that changes
Table 2  AGB and total biomass Sl. no Allometric equation
of Parkia timoriana using
different equations
1 0.0509 = (ρ × D2 × H)
2 V = 0.03177 + 1.032D2H
3 V = 0.12500 − 2.40265D
+ 21.43248D2
in moisture stress triggers flowering in the species in this
region.
Parkia exhibited lengthy fruit maturation period that
extends up to 5 months from October to February. This
observation is similar to that observed from other subtropical
forest of the region at high altitude (> 1000 m amsl) (Kikim
and Yadav 2001). Fruit initiation in the Parkia species was
mostly dependent on the time of flowering and the role
of climatic factors like rainfall and temperature were less
marked. However, the length of fruiting period and fruit rip-
ening are dependent on temperature and photo-periods (Pan-
dey et al. 2002). Fruiting/fruit maturation in Parkia occurred
during dry seasons as the mobilization of the resources from
soil and plant parts of the species are almost impossible
because of the dry periods, and this even did not require any
extra resources from the plants. Therefore, Parkia preferred
their seed ripening during the dry season.
Seed germination of Parkia occurred during the rainy
season to take advantage of favorable environmental condi-
tions (Rodrigues et al. 1990). This period facilitate the early
establishment of seedling by developing a well developed
root system that can support the young plant to withstand
during the subsequent dry season (Van Schaik 1993). The
initiation of fruiting in the dry season and maturation in
late dry season just before the rains provides opportunity
for optimum seed germination and seedling establishment
on moist soil (Kushwaha et al. 2011a,b).
Tree biomass and carbon sequestration
Total biomass (above- and below-ground) of Parkia was
calculated using the biomass equation developed by Chave
et al. (2005) and volume equation of Parkia by Thangjam
et al. (2019) which has been given in Table 2. As per the
generic equation of Chave et al. (2005), mean total biomass
per tree of P. timoriana was found to vary between 7.2 kg
for 15–30 cm CBH and 657 kg for 150–165 cm CBH with
mean of 140 kg for entire girth class. Mean density of Parkia
trees per hectare was then multiplied by per tree biomass to
obtain total biomass of 2.24 t ­ha−1 (Table 2). Total biomass
of Parkia tree was maximum (0.55 t ­ha−1) in 105–120 cm
girth class because of high tree density and biomass per tree,
whereas, the minimum biomass (0.007 t h­ a−1) was recorded
in 30–45 cm girth class (Fig. 6).
References AGB Total biomass
−1 −1
(kg tree ) (t ha ) (kg tree−1) (t ha−1)
Chave et.al. (2005) 123.04 1.96 140.83 2.24
Thangjam et.al. (2019) 260.71 4.15 295.54 4.69
Thangjam et.al. (2019) 373.47 5.95 421.55 6.69
13

0.6
Biomass
Tree biomass (tha-1)
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0 0
CBH Class (cm)
Fig. 6  Girthwise distribution of tree biomass in Parkia timoriana
Using the two best fit volume equations developed by
Thangjam et al. (2019), total mean biomass per tree for
Parkia was calculated by multiplying the wood density
value of the species. Mean total tree biomass of Parkia
varied between 295 and 421 kg for the entire girth range
with a total biomass of 4.69 and 6.69 t h­ a−1. The biomass
obtained from the equations developed by Thangjam et al.
(2019) gave was almost 2–3 times greater biomass than the
biomass calculated by the equation of Chave et al. (2005).
Since P. timoriana has light wood with less wood density
(0.36 g cm−3), the biomass calculated from the equations of
Thangjam et al. (2019) appears to be overestimated and the
generic equations of Chave et al. (2005) give more realistic
estimates. Therefore, for the biomass and carbon sequestra-
tion potential of P. timoriana in Assam Chave et al. (2005)
equation is recommended for further studies unless a more
realistic equation is not developed for the P. timoriana in
Assam. In the present study using the equation of Chave
et al. (2005), the total Carbon sequestration in P. timoriana
was 0.23 t h­ a−1 year−1 with a maximum (0.05 t h­ a−1 year−1)
in the 60–75 cm CBH class and minimum (0.002 t ­ha−1 yr−1)
in the 30–45 cm CBH class (Fig. 7). The average C-stock
(0.112 t ­ha−1) of Parkia timoriana in the present study was
comparable to that of Parkia biglobosa (0.102 t ­ha−1) from
Burkina Faso (Dimobe et al. 2018) but was significantly
higher than that of Parkia roxburghii (0.018 t ­ha−1) from
Arunachal Pradesh, India (Choudhary et al. 2014).
Being a fast-growing leguminous tree—Parkia has the
ability to accumulates atmospheric carbon and enriches soil
through nitrogen fixation at a reasonably faster rate com-
pared to other trees. Since the species is popularly grown
in the region because of its multiple uses and deep associa-
tion by the various communities including Meitei’s of North
eastern states of India. Therefore, the species has significant
potential to be used for increasing carbon sequestration in
the region. Considering the expected increase in the local
demand for Parkia timoriana due increase in human popu-
lation, efforts should be made to cultivate this tree in order
13
Vegetos
C sequestration (tha-1yr-1)
0.06
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
CBH class (cm)
Fig. 7  Girthwise Carbon sequestration in Parkia timoriana
to sustain market demand and increase carbon sequestration
in homegardens.
Conclusion
The study indicates that the phenological events of Parkia
timoriana are determined by climatic factors such as tem-
perature and rainfall (Table 1), and therefore, probably will
be sensitive to future climate. Changes in rainfall pattern,
as expected under global climate change scenario (IPCC
2007), will have pronounced effect on onset dates of vari-
ous phenophases of the species (Fitter and Fitter 2002). Fur-
ther, promotion of species in the homegardens in the region
through social encouragements and empowerments would be
recommended to boost carbon sequestration and sustainable
development in the region.
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the owners of the
homegarden in Nimaichandpur village, Assam for sharing their knowl-
edge, allowing the field study and providing hospitality.
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