Sustainable Harvesting of Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arnot (Arjuna) and Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) Robinson (Maida) Bark in Central India

Terminalia arjuna (“Arjuna”) in the family Combretaceae is a well-known medicinal tree whose bark is extensively used in Ayurvedic medicine, particularly as a cardiac tonic. Demand for Arjuna bark, both in India and abroad, has been growing rapidly for over a decade. Litsea glutinosa (“Maida”) in the family Lauraceae is a medium size tree. Its bark is used to treat joint pain, fracture, sprain, arthritis, back pain, and indigestion. Presently the bark of Arjuna and Maida is being extracted through unscientific and destructive harvesting practices. This is the first study on development of sustainable harvesting practices of Arjuna and Maida bark. The stages of bark recovery varied from tree to tree. Age of tree, harvesting method, and season of harvest influenced bark regeneration. This study recommends that for sustainable harvest, mature bark from only one fourth to one third of the total girth of the tree should be stripped by removing only outer and middle bark, leaving the inner bark for regeneration. However, strip harvesting was found to be the best method in younger trees having a girth at breast height (GBH) of less than 60 cm. Sustainable bark harvesting can be done after every 2 yr for Arjuna and 1 yr for Maida by removing opposite quarters of trunk bark.