Bamboo: Habitat Destruction and the Threat of Extinction.

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Bamboo Habitat Destruction and the Threat
ofExtinction.

• By Carissa Jackson
• Geography and Planning Department, Grand Valley
  State University
• November 18, 2004

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Study Area and Analysis

• Worldwide distribution of Bamboo populations.
• Analysis of secondary resources and data.
• The major factors disturbing the panda habitat
  are grazing, herb collection, bamboo harvesting,
  bamboo shoot collection, poaching and large-scale
  development activities such as tourism and
  mining.

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http//www.inbar.int/Ecolo_secu/resourcemap.htm
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http//www.inbar.int/Ecolo_secu/resourcemap.htm
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Why Bamboo?

• Bamboo is undoubtedly valuable in its own right
  as a distinctive form of life, even more valuable
  still is its ecological role
• Many species of Bamboo play a vital role in the
  lives of endangered species and many species of
  bamboo are threatened or endangered as well
• Bamboo is protected in National Forest reserves
  around the world, but bamboo conservation is in
  its infancy

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Purpose

• Study the effects Bamboo has on worldwide
  economy, forest structure and human and animal
  dependency

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Bamboo

• Kingdom Plantae
• Division Magnoliophyta
• Class Liliopsida
• Order Poales
• Family Poaceae
• Subfamily Bambusoideae
• Genera nearly 90 different genera including
  Arundinaria, Bambusa, Chusquea, etc.
• Giant woody grasses.
• Range in height from a few inches to 130 feet.
• Estimated to be nearly 2,000 species of Bamboo,
  only 50-100 species are preferred for use and
  scientific research.
• A sixty foot tree cut for market takes 60 years
  to replace. A sixty foot bamboo cut for market
  takes 59 days to replace.
• Over one billion people in the world live in
  bamboo houses.

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Uses of Bamboo

• Household
• aphrodisiac - ashtrays - bagpipes - barrels -
  baskets - beds - bikes - blinds - bookcases -
  bowls - boxes - briefcases - brushes - buttons -
  candlesticks - crutches - desks - dolls - egg
  cups - fans - fences - fire starters - firewood -
  flutes, drums, xylophones and other musical
  instruments - flooring - flowerpots - frames -
  furniture - garments - gates - grain storage -
  hairpins - handles - hats - hookahs - incense
  sticks - jars - kites - knives - laquerware -
  ladders - ladles - lamps shades - landscaping -
  matting - mattresses - medicines - napkin rings -
  organ pipes - ornaments - paper cutters - pegs -
  polo balls - rattles - rings - ritual objects -
  skewers - splints - tea whisks - toys -
  toothpicks - torches - trays - trellises -
  umbrellas - walking sticks - water storage -
  whistles - wine storage - winnowing trays 
• Industry
• activated charcoal - acupuncture needles -
  aircraft parts - alcohol - beer - dowel pins -
  fireworks - light-bulb filament - looms - paper
  pulp - rayon - silk cocoon trays - weaving
  shuttles
• Transportation
• boat hoods - boats - bridges - cables - carrying
  poles - carts - caulking - dirigible - junks -
  rafts - wagons - wagon floors -
  wheelbarrowFisheries
• baskets - masts - floats - nets - outriggers -
  fishnets - fishing poles - sails - traps
• Agriculture
• baskets - dams - dikes - farm implements - food -
  forage - grain - hummers - irrigation pipes -
  props - sluice gates - stakes - windbreak
  barriers - windmills
• Construction
• hen houses - houses - ply bamboo - posts -
  reinforcements - roofing - ropes - scaffolding -
  screens - shingles - stilts - temporary shelters
  - towers - flagpoles

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Bamboo in Economics

• International Bamboo trade is worth US 2 billion
  dollars a year
• China generates almost US 140 million from
  exporting bamboo shoots alone
• The Philippines generate US 1.4 million from
  bamboo furniture
• 25 percent of paper produced in India is made
  from Bamboo fiber
• 100,000 hectares of bamboo are grown for paper
  production in Brazil

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Bamboo Biodiversity

• Significant role in biodiversity conservation and
  contributes to soil and water management
• Rhizome system of bamboo lies primarily in the
  top layers of soil
• Bamboo itself is actually quite strong and
  regenerates well

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Bamboo Reproduction

• Bamboo grows in stands of groups of individual
  plants
• Each species grows for a specific period (between
  5-120 years) then all of the individuals suddenly
  produce flowers and set seed simultaneously

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Bamboos are closely linked to the survival of
rare, endangered and fascinating species.

• Endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei
  beringei) inhabit the bamboo forests of the
  Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and
  southwestern Uganda.
• When bamboo plants sprout in June and November,
  bamboo shoots can make up 90 of the gorilla's
  diet.

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• Lesser Bamboo Bat (Tylongchleris pachypus) - The
  world's second smallest bat (just over 1 inch)
  roosts exclusively in the hollow stems of bamboo.

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• Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur aureus) of Madagascar

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Giant Pandas

• The Giant Pandas diet restricted to Bamboo
• The panda's digestive system is not designed to
  process plant matter and cannot easily break down
  the cellulose in bamboo
• The Bamboo consumed by the Giant Panda is found
  only in a small area of China, which limits the
  range in which Pandas can survive.

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• Giant pandas inhabit the bamboo forest zone
  between 1,200m and 3,400m.
• Many panda populations are isolated in narrow
  belts of bamboo no more than 1,000-1,200 meters
  in width.

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• After die-offs in the past pandas would migrate
  to another area where the bamboo was still
  flourishing.
• Periodic starvations occur among giant panda
  populations.
• Giant pandas do not hibernate since their food is
  available all year long

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Conclusions

• Bamboo is far more valuable than most people
  realize, both for its own purpose and for the
  special ecological links it provides other
  species.
• High economic value
• Cornerstone species of forest development, soil
  stability and human/animal habitat.

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Questions???
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Works Cited

• Furniss, Charlie. "The Wonder Plant With an
  Uncertain Future." Geographical Aug. 2004
  59-65.
• International Network for Bamboo and Rattan. 7
  Nov. 2004 .
  
• Kirby, Alex. "UN Alert on Threat to Wild Bamboo."
  BBC News 5 Nov. 2004. 7 Nov. 2004    
•  ature/3700079.stm.
• National Wildlife Federation. 10 Nov. 2004. 8
  Nov. 2004 .