1. >Bamboo is the Fastest Growing Plant on Earth

 

 

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. Some species of bamboo can grow more than 1 meter per day, which is about 4 cm per hour. No other plant grows faster. Two examples of such fast growing bamboos are Madake (Phyllostachys reticulata) and Moso (Phyllostachys edulis).

A new bamboo shoot will reach its full height in less than a year by going through several rapid spikes of growth. The largest bamboo species in the world is Dendrocalamus sinicus, which can grow up to 46 m in height and up to 37 cm in diameter. 

 

Bamboo, the Largest Member of the Grass Family

While bamboo may grow taller than some trees, bamboo is not a tree but a group of plants that belong to the grass family. Bamboo plants come out of the ground with a fixed diameter and stems will not get thicker over the years (as is the case with trees). In addition, bamboo also doesn’t grow taller as it gets older. A fully grown 1 year old bamboo stem, however, is not considered mature yet. Depending on the species and diameter, it usually takes another 1 to 4 years for a bamboo stem to mature into a hard, wood-like material. The bigger the stem, the longer it will take to mature.

Another amazing feature of bamboo is that it is the only type of grass that can develop itself into a forest. Bamboo will constantly reproduce itself, even after harvesting, new shoots will continue to sprout from its extensive root system without having to replant. Because of all these unique characteristics, bamboo is rightfully labeled as a highly renewable and sustainable resource.

 

Daily Growth: Night vs Day

Most running bamboos (leptomorph) such as those in the genus of Phyllostachys grow faster during the day than during the night. On the other hand, clumping bamboos (pachymorph) in tropical regions grow faster during the night than during the day.

For example, Dendrocalamus strictus grows twice as much during the night than during the day, and there are species such as Bambusa oldhamii which grows up to three times more during the night than during the day.

 

What are the Fastest Growing Bamboo Species?

According to the records mentioned by Koichiro Ueda the greatest growth rates of a bamboo culm shoots per day (24 hours) are the following:

121 cm by Madake, Phyllostachys reticulata (12 cm in diameter) which is the maximum record of daily growth. It was measured by Koichiro Ueda on the outskirts of Kioto on June 23, 1955.

119 cm by Moso, Phyllostachys edulis (diameter of 16 cm), observed on May 24, 1956 by Koichiro Ueda in Nagaoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

91 cm by Bambusa bambos observed at Kew Garden in England in 1855.

In Colombia, the maximum growth observed in Guadua angustifolia has been 30 cm in 24 hours, although the average is around 11-15 cm per day.

 

2>Bamboo Provides and Endless Supply of Timber

 

 

Bamboo is a sustainable and renewable resource as it continuously spreads vegetatively. A bamboo forest will therefore develop much faster than tree forests.

In commercial forestry, trees have to be cut down and replanted. In bamboo plantations, only mature stems are selected for harvest while younger stems are left untouched to further mature and develop.

Approximately 20% of the total plantation inventory can be harvested every year without damaging the plant or its productivity. The underground root system remains in place which holds nutrients for growing new culms. In facts, selective harvesting actually helps to keep the bamboo forest healthy and highly productive.

Depending on the species, diameter, and final use, bamboo culms in a fully developed bamboo forest can be harvested at the age of 2-5 years. Hardwoods like oak take at least 40 years to mature.

If you plant bamboo today, in 7-10 years you could have high quality harvestable timber, and every year after for the rest of your life.

 

3>Bamboo Produces more Oxygen than Trees

 

 

We all know that trees are a crucial element in the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Many blogs and websites state that bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. But is this really true, and which species were used to come to that conclusion?

 

 

I decided to dig a little deeper into the subject and found out that the amount of oxygen produced by a tree or bamboo is directly related to the amount of sequestered carbon. The formula for calculating the net oxygen production of trees or bamboo is the following:

net O2 release (kg/yr) = net C sequestration (kg/yr) × 32/12

Reports state that the average tropical tree sequesters 22.6 kg of carbon per year over a period of 10 years, whereas the average Guadua Bamboo clump will sequester 77 kg of carbon a year over a period of 7 years. However, a plantation of tropical trees counts on average 600 trees per hectare, whereas the average Guadua plantation will only count 278 clumps.

If we simplify the above data by translating the numbers to tons per hectare, then Guadua sequesters on average 150 ton carbon per hectare (7 years after planting), vs tropical trees with an average of 95 ton carbon per hectare (7 years after planting).

 

In net oxygen production this means 400 ton for Guadua vs 253 ton for tropical trees. So, in this comparison it can be concluded that bamboo produces 58% more oxygen than trees.

Now if we would swap tropical Guadua bamboo with temperate Moso bamboo than bamboo would produce 32% more oxygen than trees since Moso sequesters 45% less carbon than Guadua.

• Bamboo Produces Water for Rivers and Streams

Bamboo forests protect rivers and their ecosystems by regulating the quantity and quality of water. They form a sort of wall that serves as sediment control and to prevent the loss of flow in rivers.

 

Bamboo acts as a reservoir by collecting and storing large amounts of water in its rhizomes and stems during rainy season, and returning water to the soil, rivers and streams during droughts. One hectare of Guadua bamboo can store approximately 30,000 liters of water. Bamboo's extraordinary ability to hold and control large amounts of water makes it a plant that can help reduce soil desertification.

The over-exploitation of wood has led to droughts all over the world, inevitably causing erosion and affecting the lives of people, animals and plants. Bamboo grows in a wide variety of environments, including drylands where drought is killing other crops. From low wetlands to higher altitudes in the mountains, bamboo can thrive in a wide range of climates.

The extensive root system and forest cover of bamboo prevents streams from evaporating and can raise groundwater levels within a few years. Research has shown how severely degraded soil (as a result of an intensive brick industry) has been restored after planting bamboo. Within 20 years, the groundwater level has risen by 10 meters, which made it possible to add agricultural crops and tree species into the bamboo landscape.

 

• Bamboo can Replace Wood for any Application

Bamboo can replace wood in almost any application. Today, there are thousands of bamboo products that completely replace wood, ranging from paper and pulp products, flooring, musical instruments, furniture, construction materials, and so on. In addition, bamboo fibers are much stronger than wood fibers and less likely to deform due to changing atmospheric conditions.

 

 

Bamboo is a great alternative to traditional timber as it develops quickly into a hard, wood‐like fiber. Bamboo stems reach maturity at 2-5 years versus 10-20 years for most softwoods. Virtually every part of the bamboo plant can be used to make a variety of products. The hardness and strength properties of bamboo will vary and largely depend on the species, origin and type of processing. Some bamboos are extremely “hard” and have been compared to oak and maple. 

Every year, 30 million hectares of forests are lost as a result of worldwide deforestation. As a versatile substitute for hardwood, bamboo offers the opportunity to drastically reduce this figure and to protect endangered tropical forests. The fact that bamboo grows back after harvest without the need for replanting is an enormous advantage. Combined with the ability of creating strong, beautiful and durable products that can be recycled as agglomerate or a source for green energy, makes bamboo an essential renewable resource.

 

4>EATWARE Bamboo-based Products

 

 

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