Role of groundwater recharge in enhancing provisioning and regulating services of Tectona grandis Linn. f. plantation in Bundelkhand region of central India

Dryland regions face serious challenges from water scarcity, soil degradation and poor agricultural productivity, requiring integrated land-use strategies that restore soil–water interactions and ecosystem functioning. Soil moisture availability, governed by infiltration and subsurface water retention linked to rainwater harvesting (RWH) infrastructure, is a fundamental driver of vegetation growth and ecosystem service delivery in semi-arid landscapes; however, its influence on the balance between provisioning and regulating services in agroforestry remains insufficiently understood. Present study examined the effects of contrasting RWH intensities and planting spacings on growth, timber productivity and ecosystem service delivery of Tectona grandis (teak) block plantations in the semi-arid Bundelkhand region of central India. Eighteen seven-year-old plantations were assessed across two sites differing in RWH intensity, Pura-Birdha (intensive) and Pura-Khurd (limited), under three planting spacings (2 m × 2 m, 2 m × 3 m and 3 m × 3 m), using two-way analysis of variance with least significant difference testing. Plantations at Pura-Birdha showed significantly higher survival, growth and timber productivity (p < 0.05). Mean tree volume and total biomass were approximately 105% greater than at Pura-Khurd, yielding markedly higher carbon stock (20.35 vs. 9.91 t C ha - ¹), cumulative CO 2 sequestration (74.69 vs. 36.36 t CO 2 e ha - ¹ over seven years) and mean annual carbon sequestration rates of 2.91 vs. 1.42 t C ha - ¹ yr - ¹. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil moisture content were also consistently higher at Pura-Birdha. Closer spacing (2 m × 2 m) maximized stand-level biomass, mean annual increment and carbon sequestration, whereas wider spacing enhanced individual-tree growth but reduced stand-level provisioning and regulating benefits, particularly under moisture-limited conditions (Pura-Khurd). Significant location × spacing interactions confirmed that spacing effects on biomass and carbon dynamics were modulated by site-level soil moisture availability. Overall, soil moisture availability enhanced through RWH infrastructure acted as a key regulator linking provisioning services (timber yield and biomass) with regulating services (carbon sequestration, soil moisture and SOC). Integrating RWH with optimized planting density offers a practical framework to enhance productivity, ecosystem regulation and climate resilience in semi-arid dryland agroforestry systems.