Carbon storage, mitigation and sequestration potential of Haldina cordifolia and Mitragyna parvifolia in tropical dry deciduous environment of Chhattisgarh, India

The current research explored the storage, mitigation, and sequestration of carbon in two age groups of Haldina cordifolia and Mitragyna parvifolia grown on entisols of tropical dry deciduous environment of Chhattisgarh, India. The random sampling technique was used for measuring the various ecological attributes of the stands. The average girth increment for both the species was more in site-I (6 year old plantation). H. cordifolia and M. parvifolia reflected increment of 2.3-5 cm yr- 1 and 2.5-5 cm yr-1, respectively. The NPP (net primary production) values for both the sites viz., site-I (6 year old plantation) and site-II (4 year old plantation) were 10.32 t ha-1 yr- 1 and 8.92 t ha-1 yr- 1, respectively for H. cordifolia plantation and 11.08 t ha- 1 yr- 1 and 9.63 t ha-1 yr-1 for M. parvifolia plantation. The carbon (C) storage, mitigation, and carbon sequestration (Cseq.) values for the two sites ranged from 19.22-24 t ha- 1, 70.54-88.08 t ha- 1, and 3.08-3.81 t ha-1 yr- 1, respectively. It is evident that site-I (6 year old plantation) and M. parvifolia perform better than site-II (4 year old plantation) and H. cordifolia, respectively. Both the species belong to family Rubiaceae and among both the species M. parvifolia reflected comparatively better growth traits over H. cordifolia. Thus, M. parvifolia can be effectively utilized for afforestation, reforestation, and other plantation programs in this region as well as other places with similar environmental conditions.