It’s a well-known fact that bamboo is the lifeblood of the giant panda, but the latest scientific research has found that this plant can also save the planet from environmental degradation. In the area around the center of the atomic bombing, plants and animals were nearly wiped out, but only bamboo survived!
Bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than any other plant.
Bamboo is one of the most resilient plants on earth and can be found from sea level to mountains 12,000 feet above sea level. It is estimated that there are as many as 1,500 different species of bamboo growing in different environments, which is nothing short of a miracle in the plant world.
Bamboo can help solve many environmental problems. 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leaving behind a serious risk of terrestrial nuclear radiation. People were surprised to find that the area around the blast centers was nearly extinct of plants and animals, but only bamboo survived!
Bamboo is not only a strong survivor, but it can also help repair soil damaged by overgrazing and poor farming techniques. Its well-developed root system holds soil moisture well, making it an ideal plant for preventing soil sanding and flooding. Unlike other tree species, bamboo is not destroyed when the above-ground portion is cut down, thus minimizing the sanding of the soil surface and other side effects on the environment caused by cutting down trees.
Bamboo not only absorbs the carbon dioxide that leads to the greenhouse effect that threatens living species, but more importantly, it releases 35% more oxygen than other plants. Studies in Japan and some other regions have shown that bamboo forests can absorb up to 12 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year, playing an important role in stabilizing the composition of the earth’s atmosphere. There is no doubt that the more bamboo is planted, the better it is for the environment in which human beings live.
Bamboo’s uses to be further developed
Therefore, human beings should further develop other uses of bamboo. 4,000 years, people have applied bamboo to all aspects of production and life: papermaking, building houses, food processing, manufacturing weapons, medicine, and even aphrodisiacs, etc. As bamboo is abundant in Southeast Asia and Central America, it can be used for a variety of purposes. Since bamboo is abundant in Southeast Asia and Central America, its applications are mostly limited to these two regions. Except for making vine supports for gardens, fishing rods, and indoor furniture, no new utilization value of bamboo has been found in developed regions.
This situation may change soon. Bamboo plywood is made by gluing layers of bamboo together under high pressure. It will replace wood panels made from oak, beech, and tropical broadleaf trees with the advantages of low cost and good material. Several commercial advantages of bamboo plywood are its resistance to abrasion and shrinkage. Bamboo plywood is also ecologically sound compared to traditional wood and laminate flooring.
Bamboo can be cut continuously because every year it grows new shoots from its roots. Bamboo usually takes only four or five years to mature, which is much faster than the growth of broadleaf trees. Bamboo plywood can be produced in small factories, and although the adhesives they use are not 100 percent environmentally friendly, the environmental impact of this production is minimal compared to other methods of producing similar products.
Bamboo protects endangered animals
How does bamboo protect endangered animals? While forests automatically protect the animals that inhabit them, the production of bamboo and bamboo plywood can bring more direct benefits to the world’s most endangered animal, the giant panda. Although great success has been achieved in improving the diet of the giant panda, the situation for this wild animal remains difficult. Only about half of the 900 to 1,000 pandas that currently survive are in the wild. These wild pandas are in danger of extinction: illegal logging of trees and expansion of agricultural land have turned the bamboo forests where the pandas live into isolated islands, each surrounded by signs of human activity.
The number of pandas trapped on these islands is pitifully low, almost 10 or so. For mammals, the minimum number of animals to reproduce is 50. Below that number, they are considered virtually incapable of reproducing and will eventually die from conspecific reproduction. Without the ability to adapt to new environments and reproduce in distant lineages, the future of the “lone wolf” panda is in jeopardy. If every wild panda faces this situation, the future of pandas is in danger.
However, if rows of bamboo were planted between the two islands to form a “green corridor”, then the pandas would feel their way to a safe habitat until they could see their counterparts from the other island. Although this method has not been tried on an animal as large as the giant panda, tests on several other mammals have shown that it works.
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Giant Panda Research Center at the Wolong Nature Reserve in China and the UK’s Giant Panda Trust, the first batch of bamboo has already been planted on the riverbanks located between the two giant panda habitats, after preliminary estimates. It is planned to plant a 500-meter wide “bamboo corridor” on the land between the two areas after the return of farmland to forest.
Bamboo will also be planted in the local forests. Bamboo grows quickly, and it is estimated that in two or three years, pandas will be able to cross the bamboo corridor without being tempted by the bamboo. Even if only 1% of the pandas in each generation cross the bamboo corridor, it will ensure the reproduction ability of these two groups of pandas.
These bamboo will grow to maturity in eight or nine years, and in another ten years or so, they will completely cover the ground. Once this method proves effective, the approximately 100 pandas on the isolated islands, which make up 10 percent of the world’s wild pandas, will be able to connect through the bamboo corridors and then reproduce steadily for generations to come.
With the implementation of this program, bamboo was planted on both sides of the promenade, and the bamboo grows to provide raw material for local bamboo plywood production. This will not only provide more jobs and stimulate the local economy, but local social groups should also minimize the pressure on the demand for the “bamboo corridor”. If this program is successful, it will also benefit all mankind.
