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Periodicity of different phenophases in selected trees from Himalayan Terai of India

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Abstract

The temporal phenology of leaf bud bursting, leaf initiation, leaf maturation, leaf fall, flower initiation, fruit initiation and fruit fall was recorded for eight tree species (Ficus hispida, F. squamosa, Mallotus nudiflorus, M. philippensis, Shorea robusta, Schleichera oleosa, Pongamia pinnata and Terminalia arjuna) in the tropical moist deciduous forest of Himalayan Terai region from November 2009 to October 2012. The study revealed that a short low temperature dry period, sufficient winter rain and temperature rise are the triggering factors for summer leaf flushing and, the increased soil water availability for second leaf flushing in rains. Initiation of flowering with leaf emergence in the dry period supports higher rate of fruit setting due to maximum availability and activities of pollinators. The dispersal and post dispersal success of fruits increased by their ripening before and/or in the rainy season. In T. arjuna, no correlation has been found between the fruiting and rains. M. nudiflorus and M. philippensis initiate leaves and flowers with the first significant increase in temperature and photoperiod and are thus suggested as the potential tree species for climate change studies in tropics.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Director, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow and the Head, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi for providing necessary facilities. The financial support was received from DST, New Delhi under GAP-215725. Thanks are also due to PCCF (Wildlife), Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh for granting permission and all the forest staff for their logistic support to conduct the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Diversity, Systematics and Herbarium Division, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226001, India

    Omesh Bajpai & L. B. Chaudhary

  2. Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 221 005, India

    Omesh Bajpai & Jitendra Pandey

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  1. Omesh Bajpai
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  2. Jitendra Pandey
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Correspondence to Omesh Bajpai.

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Bajpai, O., Pandey, J. & Chaudhary, L.B. Periodicity of different phenophases in selected trees from Himalayan Terai of India. Agroforest Syst 91, 363–374 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9936-9

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