IDRC CRDI - International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation

IDRCCRDI

C A N A D A

The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the parliament of Canadain 1970 to support research designed to adapt science and technology to the needs of developing countries,food and nutrition sciences; health sciences; information sciences; social sciences; earth and engineeringsciences; and communications. IDRC is financed solely by the. Parliament of Canada; its policies, however,are set by an International Board of Governors. The Centre’s headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada.Regional Offices are located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

FORSPA

The Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (FORSPA) is funded by the AsianDevelopment Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. It is executed by the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations. The objectives of FORSPA are to strengthen nationalresearch capabilities in the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific, promote technology transfer andincrease the access of forestry research institutes to updated information services. FORSPA is committed toencouraging young scientists to undertake forestry research for the long-term good of the region’s forests.

INBAR is a research network promoting better production and use of bamboo and rattan. It is currently co-sponsored by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC) and the UN InternationalFund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The major areas of research on the two commodities includesocio-economics, production, post-harvest technology and information including technology transfer andtraining. INBAR is hosted by the IDRC Regional Office in New Delhi.

(Cover photo by Dr. Songkram Thammincha)

Proceedings 4th International Bamboo Workshop on

BAMBOO IN ASIAAND THE PACIFIC

held at Chiangmai, Thailand, November 27-30, 1991

TECHNICALDOCUMENTGCP/RA!S/134/ASB

FORSPA PUBLICATION 6FORSPA PUBLICATION 6

international Development Research Centreinternational Development Research CentreFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

United Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Development Programme19941994

Funded by:* Asian Development Bank* United Nations Development Programme

Executed by:* Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Objectives* To strengthen national research capabilities in the developing countries of the Asia

Pacific Region* To promote technology transfer (from lab to land) through effective dissemination of

research results to users* To enhance collective self-reliance of Forest Research Institutes *(FRIs) through

networking* To increase the access of FRIs to updated and comprehensive information services* To provide the FRIs a window of opportunity to forge links with global forestry research

Advisory Group for FORSPA

Mr. Wang shiji

Consultant, Forest Research Director, Papua New GuineaInstitute, Chinese Academy of Forest Research Institute, Lae,Forestry, Beijing, China. Papua New Guinea.Dr. D.N. Tewari Dr. Suree Bhumibhamon

Director-General, Indiancouncil of Forestry Research &Education (ICFRE)., Dehra Dun,India.Mr. Wartono Kadri

Forestry Faculty, KasetsartUniversity, Bangkok, Thailand.

Indonesian Adivisor forForestry Research, Jakarta,Indonesia.

Dr. B.N. Ganguli

Senior Forestry Specialist,Asian Development Bank,Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Fqjio Kobayashi

Japan Forest TechnicalAssociation (jAFT.A), Tokyo,Japan.

Dr. G. Stocker

Dr. Colin Ogbourne

Director-Information Services,CAB. International,Walling ford, United Kingdom.

Dr. M.K. Muthoo

Director, Operations Services,FAO Headquarters, Rome,Italy.Dr. Salleh Mohd Nor

President, International Unionof Forest ResearchOrganizations (IV’FRO).

Mr. S. Zakharia

Chief, Regional ProgrammeDivision, United NationsDevelopment Programme,New York, USAMr. LR Jiko

Head, Sibiculture ResearchDivision, Forestry DepartmentP.O. Box 2218, Suva, Fiji

The designations and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expressiof any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitNations (FAO) concerning legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.FORSPA Secretariat: Dr. C.T.S. Nair, Senior Programme Advisor

Mr. Anders Jensen, Associate Professional OfficerMs. Berenice Muraille, Associate Professional OfficerMs. Panida Jongkol, SecretaryMr. Pathomchai Saengduangdee, Secretary

Contact address: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific39 Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit RoadPhranakhon District, Bangkok 10200THAILANDTel: (662) 281-7844Fax: (662) 280-4565

o ne dor

Table of ContentsForewordDedicationSession 1: Bamboo Resources

Bamboo resources in Thailand: how much do we know?Soejatmi Dransfield

Endemic bamboo from SumatraElizabeth A. Widjaja

Exploring bamboo germplasm in SumatraElizabeth A. Widjaja

Five genera of Bambusoideae (Gramineae) recently found in Yunnan, ChinaChi Ju Hsueh (Xue Ji Ru) and De Zhu Li

Ochlandra (bamboo reed) a vanishing asset of forests in Kerala, South IndiaS. Chandra Basha

Studies on bamboo species growing in Indo-Nepal Terai region and the Biharstate of India

Jainendra Kumar and Ashok Kumar SinhaNotes on taxonomy, distribuiion and conservation of bamboo for Banbladesh

Alam, M.K.The bamboo resource in Sri Lanka

Swarnamali, P.A. and Vivekanandan, K.Ochlandra stridula Moon ex Thw. - a profile

Neela de ZoysaThe need for conservation of Arundinaria alpina K. Schum. in Kenya and itsecological significance

Sigu Gordon OnduruRemote sensing application in bamboo evaluation: a case study in Kerala

Menon, A.R.R.GIS on bamboo distribution in Kerala

P. Vijayakumaran NairAvailability, distribution of bamboo and its industrial status in PeninsularMalaysia

Abd. Latif Mohmod and Abd. Razak Othman

Session 2: Growth, Physiology and Genetics

1

5

7

1 5

18

2 7

32

3 7

4 1

4 8

5 1

55

6 0

The flowering of bamboo: fallacies and factsSharma, M.L

Nutrient cycling in bamboo stands: nutrient input and its loss through run off inwatersheds in pure Phyllostachys pubescens Stands.

Fu Maoyi; Cao Qungen; Fang Mingyu and Xie JingzhongIntroduction and early performance of some Asian bamboo species in Kenya

Kigomo, B.N.Comparative performance of bamboo with the horticultural crops in Konkan

Wagh, R and Rajput, J.C.

6 8

71

7 9

8 5

Session 3: Management of Natural Stands

The sustainability of bamboo supply in Peninsular Malaysialsmarish Hj. Ahmed and Nor’zini Haron

Growth of bamboo on degraded soil: a preliminary reportAbd. Rasak Othman

Culm yield and biomass productivity of Laak (Sphaerobambos philippinensis)Virtucio, F.D.; Manipula, B.M. and Schlegel, F.M.

Culm production of Bambusa arundinacea in natural forests of Kamatka, IndiaLakshmana, AC.

Thinning: a tool for higher productivity in Dendrocalamus strictusLaksmana, AC.

Effect of thinning, cutting age and felling cycle on culm yield of Buho(Schizostachyum lumampao) natural stands

Virtucio F.D. and Tomboc, C.C.

Session 4: Plantation Technology

8 7

92

95

loo

104

106

Studies on seed germination, seedling growth and nursery management ofMelocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz.

Banik, R.LGermination and fertilization of Cigantochloa ligulata seedlings

Azmy Hj. MohamedMass production of field planting stock of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii vegetativelythrough macro-proliferation

Adarsh Kumar; Mohinder Pal and Shiv KumarStudies on the selection and breeding of shoot producing bamboo

Zhang Cuang Chu and Chen Fu QiuBamboo farming: an economic alternative on marginal lands

Patil, V.C.; Patil, S.V. and Hanumashetti, S.I.Bamboo has an important role in agroforestry management models

Fu Maoyi; Fu Jinhe and Fang MinguNative bamboo: situation, local management and agroforestry/communityforestry perspectives at the Sub-Lanka forest village

Permsak MakarabhiromManagement of bamboo shoot stands in Linan County, China

Wan Anguo

Session 5: Propagation

113

120

123

128

133

136

1 4 1

1 4 9

Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from Mexican weeping bamboo,Otatea acuminata aztecorum

Woods, H.S.; Wood, J.E.; Phillips, C.C. and Collins, C.D.Towards regeneration and mass propagation of bamboo through tissue culture

Saxena, S. and Bhoswani, Sant. S.Micropropagation of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Munro using single nodecuttings taken from elite seedling plants

Sood, A.; Palni, LM.S.; Sharma, M. and Sharma, O.P.Integrated propagation of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Munro by using partiallyjuvenile culms

Sharma, O.P.Tissue culture alternatives in bamboo improvementLi Chun Huang and Bau Lian Huang

153

157

165

169

174

Session 6: Properties and Utilization

Effect of age on the physio-mechanical properties of some Philippine bambooEspiloy, Z.B.

Effect of age and hei(Bambusa balooda) %a

ht position on Muli (Melocanna baccifera) and Borakmboo on their physical and mechanical properties

Sattar, M.A; Kabir, M.F. and Bhattacharjee, D.K.Physical and strength properties of Dendrocalamus strictus grown in Kerala,lndia

Cnanaharan, RAnatomical characteristics of Taiwan giant bamboo and Moso bamboo

Shuen Chao Wu and Jung Sheng HsiehThe ultra (micro) structure of Taiwan giant bamboo and Moso bamboo

Jung Sheng Hsieh and Shuen Chao WuStructure and functions of the nodes in bamboo

Liese, W. and Ding, Y.Fiber and chemical properties of Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.

Jamaludin Kasim and Ashari Abd. JalilStructural variability of vascular bundles of some exotic bamboo species

Yi Chung Wang; Jung Sheng Hsieh and Shuen Chao WuCarbohydrates in commercial Malaysian bamboo

Abd. Latif Mohmod; Khoo, K.C. and Nor Azah Mohd. AliVariation in physical properties of two Malaysian bamboo

Abd. Latif Mohmod; Wan Termeze Arfin and Hamdan HusainA hand operated bamboo slicing tool

Crewal, S.; Mohd. Rashid Samad and Abd. Latif MohmodField evaluation of preservative treated bamboo

Cnanaharan, R.The production of active carbon from bamboo and its application in keeping

Kenji Hoskawa and Takahisa MinamideBamboo in Indian pulp industry

Adkoli, N.S.Urea particle board from Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.

Chew Lian Teck; Nurulhuda Mohd. Nasir and Jamaludin KasimUtilization of bamboo in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal

Poudal, P.P.Development and utilization of bamboo resources in Yunnan Province, China

Yang Yuming and Wang Jian HaoProspects for bamboo based products as replacement for wood in Yunnan

Yang Yuming and Zhang Hong JianA glimpse of bamboo resource utilization in Yunnan Province, China

Xue Jiru; Yin Zhongwen and Yang Yuming

Session 7: Bamboo as an Engineering Material

180

183

188

193

199

2 1 3

2 1 8

2 2 2

2 2 7

2 3 2

2 3 7

2 4 3

2 4 7

2 5 0

2 5 5

2 5 8

2 6 3

2 7 0

2 7 3

The future of bambooJanssen, J J.A.

278

An improved clay based building material: conclayGulson, G.A.

281

Provisional specifications for clay house constructionFoch, C.R; Conceicao, J.E’.T.; Consalves, A.J.C.

Connection of bamboo elements Arce, 0.An improved and economical process for manufacture of bamboo mat board

Zoolagud, S.S. and Rangaraju, T.S.

2 8 3

2 8 72 9 2

food fresh

Application of bamboo mat composites in construction and packagingDamodaran, K. and Jagadeesh, H.N.

Philippine bamboo furniture industry - prospects and problemsRojo, J.P.; Foronda, S.U. and Aggangan, RT.

Mature bamboo in mass housingMishra, H.N. and Sanyal, S.N.

2 9 9

305

3 0 9

Preservation of bamboo mat boards: glue line additive, a simple method topreserve mat board

Kamal, S.ZM. and Padmanabhan, S.Upgraded bamboo as a housing material: the step from science to shelter

Dunham, D.C.

315

3 1 7

Session 8: Pests, Disease and Detioration

Diseases of bamboo: a world perspectiveBoa, E.R

323

Characterization of bamboo mosaic virus isolation from infected green bamboo(Bambusa oldhamii Munro) in Taiwan

Na Sheng Lin and Yau Heiu Hsu

327

Insect pests of bamboo shoot in ThailandSurachai Choldumrongkul

331

Session 9: Information and Technology Dissemination

Information for bamboo research: to establish a database complex: Chinabamboo

Zhu, 5. and Zhang, X.

3 3 6

Information for bamboo research: activities of the Bamboo Information Center,India

Pillai, K.S. and Ravindan, K.

3 3 9

Bamboo research and development in the PhilippinesTomboc, C.C. and Virtucio, F.D.

341

Session 10: Socio-Economics and Marketing

Bamboo in Malaysia: past, present and future researchAminuddin Mohamad and Abd. Latif Mohmod

3 4 9

Participants in the Fourth International Bamboo Workshop 3 6 0

F O R E W O R D

This publication is based on the papers presented at the Fourth International Bam-boo Workshop held in Chiangmai, Thailand, in 1991 and organized by the Faculty ofForestry, Kasetsart University and the Royal Forest Department. It was sponsored bythe International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC) with the activesupport of The International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO).

We wish to acknowledge with thanks contributions made by Professors SongkramThammincha and Dr. Anan Anantachote from the Faculty of Forestry of KasetsartUniversity as well as the late Dr. Y.S. Rao of the Forestry Research Support Programmefor Asia and the Pacific (FORSPA) in bringing out this publication. Special mentionmust be made of the active interest taken by Ms. Berenice Muraille, Associate Pro-fessional Officer with FORSPA, who took over the task of getting this publicationdone after the tragic and sudden death of Dr. Y.S. Rao.

C.T.S. Nair Cherla SastrySenior Programme Advisor Senior Programme SpecialistFORSPA IDRC

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

INBAR and the preceeding informal network, the IDRC Bamboo and Rattan ResearchNetwork in Asia, have been holding a series of international workshops on bamboo forover a decade. These workshops provide a forum for information exchange on researchand development activities in bamboos amongst participants from developing andindustrialized countries worldwide. The International Bamboo Workshop held inChiangmai, Thailand, in 1991 was the fourth in the series, and the Fifth InternationalBamboo Workshop was held last year in Bali, Indonesia.

The proceedings of the Chiangmai Workshop were widely sought after and quickly wentout of print. Because of the large number of requests, INBAR is funding a second printingof Bamboo in Asia and the Pacific, together with FORSPA which has provided the films.We are confident that readers will find the proceedings a significant addition to theirreference collection.

Cherla B Sastry C.T.S NairDirector Senior Programme AdviserINBAR FORSPA

May 1996

Bamboo Resources

Proceedings 4th International

Bamboo Workshop, 1991

Bamboo in the Asia Pacific Proceedings 4th International Bamboo Workshop, 1991

Bamboo Resources in Thailand:How Much Do We Know ?

Soejatmi Dransfield*

Introduction Bamboo speciesIt has been recorded that there are 41 species of bamboo in12 genera in Thailand (Smitinand & Ramyarangsi, 1980);this figure has been cited in most papers relating to thebamboo of Thailand. There is, in fact, no critical taxo-nomic account of Thai bamboo. “Bamboo of Thailand” byLin Wei Cheih, 1968 is merely a guide book, based onGamble’s and Camus’ works; which are in need of a criti-cal revision. In fact no extensive and intensive inventorywork on bamboo has been carried out.

The bamboo flora of Thailand is rich and diverse. Thecountry is surrounded by bamboo rich areas which havedifferent types of vegetation, such as Wet Tropical vegeta-tion in the south and southwest, or Dry Dipterocap forestand grassland in the central and eastern part. Bamboo spe-cies found in the dry areas are different from those grow-ing in the wet tropics; for example, Dendrocalamusstrictus has never been recorded growing wild in the south(Peninsula).

There are at least ten species of bamboo which are re-garded as being very useful; they are found mostly in theCentral Region. Studies on many aspects of these speciesare being carried out in Thailand. Because of this inves-tigation there is no difficulty in recognizing these species.They are also found abundantly where they occur; localpeople utilize them for every day purposes and collect thebamboo from wild populations. One, Thyrsostachys sia-mensis, has now become a popular garden plant outsideThailand.

The summary of 60 species currently identified is pres-ented in the Appendix I, of which 18 species are found inthe Peninsula,

In the past, bamboos in Thailand have always been ex-cluded from the Flora accounts of the country, as they areregarded as village plants, or found growing in loggedover or secondary forests, or wastelands. In the past de-cade observations and investigations have been made onseveral short visits to various parts of the country and her-barium specimens collected for further study. Based onthis and on a study of herbarium specimens (mostly col-lected in 1950’s) housed in the Herbarium at Kew, En-gland, 60 species so far have been identified as occurringin Thailand; they belong to 14 genera. Thai bamboos pres-ent several taxonomic and nomenclatural problems. Thebotanical names are mostly adopted from taxonomicworks of neighbouring countries. In this paper a few spe-cies from the south will be discussed as they could be po-tentially important for future bamboo research inThailand.

Schizostachpm, a genus of about 30 species distributedmainly in Malaysia, is represented by five species in Thai-land. One of them is Schizostachyum zollingeri, a speciesalso found in the Malay Peninsula and North Sumatra(Indonesia). In April 1991 this species was seen growingabundantly in the south, especially along roads near KhaoSok National Park. There is evidence that in the past thisspecies was recorded growing in the forest (herbariumspecimens at Kew). After the forest was disturbed (by log-ging or constructing new roads), this species spread, occu-pying empty spaces, together with other plant species. Theculms can reach 20 m tall with a diameter of 8 - 10 cmand have thin walls. At the time of observation, flowerswere not seen. In the northern part of Malaysia (in Perlis)S. zollingeri was found flowering gregariously in 1981and produced fruits in abundance (Won& 1981). In Perlisthis species is utilized locally for making strips, plaitedinto ornamental motifs for walls or baskets (Wong, 1989).In North Sumatra the internodes are used for cooking glu-tinous rice. Other Malaysian species found also in Thai-land are S. grande (in the Peninsula) and 27. aciculare (inthe north). The yellow variety of S. bruchycladum isplanted as an ornamental. The fifth Schizostuchyum


species is as yet unnamed; it is found growing in Khao described from Vietnam, was once collected from DoiYai National Park above 600 m altitude. sutep.

There are nine species of Gigantochloa identified as oc-curring in Thailand. Three of them are also found in thePeninsular Malaysia; they are Gigantochloa ligulata, G.latifolia and G. scortechinii. G. ligulata is found abun-dantly, especially in wastelands. The culms are about 6 mtall with a diameter of 4 cm and with very thick walls.Flowers are found regularly. Another species, often founddominating the landscape around Khao Sok NationalPark, is related to G. balui from Borneo (Brunei, Sabahand Sarawak). This bamboo grows on cleared ground atthe edge of the Vacharaprapha Dam and around the areasbetween limestone hills. As in the case of S. zollingeri,this Gigantochloa sp. was found growing in the past in theforest, and therefore can be regarded as native in theareas. In most species of Gigantochloa the culm sheathsare usually covered with dark brown or black hairs(Widjaja, 1987); however in G. balui the culm sheaths andthe internodes have white hairs. The species of Gigantoch-loa from the south of Thailand also has culm sheaths andinternodes covered with white hairs. Some clumps of thisGigantochloa were found bearing flowers in April 1991.The culms are erect, about lOm, tall with a diameter of5-6 cm and with thin walls. Gigantochloa compressa,which was described from southern Burma, is also foundon the west coast of the Peninsula. This species is muchmore robust than Gigantochloa sp. from the south. Theculm sheaths are covered with black hairs. It is foundgrowing scattered along roadsides or in disturbed forest.There are some taxonomic problems in the genus Gigan-tochloa in Thailand. G. nigrociliata (Buse) Kurz wasoriginally described from Java, and is believed to be nativein Java, probably in Bali and in Sumatra (Widjaja, 1987).The bamboo from central Thailand called as G. nigrocilia-ta probably belongs to different species. G. albociliata,formerly described as Oxytenanthera albociliata Munro,is quite different from other typical Gigantochloa species;sometimes it is included in Dendrocalamus. Oxythenan-tera was described from Africa with one species 0. abys-sinica. Holttum (1958) suggested that Asiatic species ofOxytenanthera do not belong to this genus, but belong toeither Gigantochloa or Dendrocalamus. Holttum, howev-er, did not make any formal transfer. Some of the speciesfrom Vietnam have been transferred to Gigantochloa(Nguyen, 1990) without explanation.

The most widespread bamboo genus, Bambusa, is repre-sented by 12 species in Thailand. Three species from themountains in the Peninsular Malaysia, B. montana (= B.paucifora, B. klossii), B. wrayi-and B. cf ridleyi, are alsofound in the mountains in the south; they do not in factbelong in Bambusa, but belong to different genera (KM.Wong, pers. comm.). There are still some unidentified

The two species of Cephalostachyum found in Thailand(C. pergracile and C. virgatum) are quite different fromthe true members of the genus, which are found growingin the mountains in North India and Nepal. The inflores-cences in C. pergracile and in C. virgatum resemble thoseof some species of Schizostachyum. A further criticalstudy is required.

With 15 species Thailand has the largest number of Den-drocalamus species in SE. Asia. D. strictus is the mostwidespread species in mainland Asia, ocurring from India,Burma, Bangladesh and Southern China, to Vietnam, andis one of the most useful bamboo in the regions. There aresome taxonomic problems in the gemrs, one problematicspecies is D. membranaceus. When Munro (1868) de-scribed D. membranaceus for the first time, he cited threespecimens which may belong to different taxa. It is notcertain, though, whether the common bamboo foundgrowing in forests in Thailand identified as D. membra-naceus is true D. membranaceus.

There are at least 3 species of Dinochloa in Thailand. Oneof them is from the north, and is named D. maclellundii(Munro) Kurz; its inclusion in the genus is doubtful, be-cause flower and fruit have never been collected; flowersand fruits are very important to recognize Dinochloa spe-cies. The other two species are found in the Peninsula. D.andamanica is found primarily on the west coast. The oth-er is found from Surathani to Pahang in the PeninsularMalaysia. This species has been wrongly identified as D.scandens (found only in Java, Indonesia) and is thus as yetundescribed and not named.

There may be a second species of Melocanna to be foundin Thailand. Its identity is not certain, because flowers arenot available. M bacczfera, the only other species, is notnative.

Neohouzeoua and Teinostachyum are two closely relatedgenera, also related to Schizostachyum. Holttum (1958)suggested they should be combined under Schizostachyum.There are 3 species of Neohouzeoua and one of Teinosta-chyum in Thailand. A critical study on this group isneeded.

There are two small bamboo species found in the East andNorth East of the country, identified as Arundinaria cilia-ta and A. pusilla. These two species of Arundinaria werefirst described from Vietnam, and recently have been in-eluded in a new genus, Kietnamosasa Nguyen, a genus of3 species (Nguyen, 1990). The genus is in fact still verylittle known, and the identity of the two Thai small bam-boo is doubtful; further investigation is needed.

species of Bambusa collected from the north eastern partof the country, such as a species related to B. tulda but Phyllostachys is a genus native in the temperate regions of

also related to B. (=Lingnania) chungii from China. B.Asia; some of the species have been introduced and

sesquiflora (= L ingnan ia sequiflora McClure), formerly planted in the tropics; P. aurea is occasionally planted inThailand .

2 Studies on Bamboo Specks Growing in the Indo-Nepal Terai Region and Bihar State of India

Bamboo in the Asia Pacific Proceedings 4th Intetmtional Bamboo workshop 1991

Pros ects for some bamboo spe-cies rom the PeninsulafIt is already known that there are only a few species ofbamboo that produce good quality pulp, and that a vastquatity of culms is needed to supply a paper mill daily. Inthis paper, therefore, the subject of pulp production willnot be discussed firther.Generally Giguntochloa species have a wide range of uses,because the culms are straight with relatively thin to mod-erately thick walls and the nodes are not swollen; theyoung shoots are edible, although rather bitter. Prospectsfor Gigantochloa sp. aff. G. balui and G. compressa couldbe very good in cottage industries. In Malaysia G. scorte-chinii, which is also thriving after forest clearance, has be-come an important material for local people in theircottage industries, such as for making satay sticks or in-cense sticks.

Further work requiredThis attempt to record the occurrence of bamboo speciesin the south does not include records of the quantities ofbamboo. Because bamboo provide unlimited possibilitiesfor investigation, it is suggested here to research bamboospecies found in the Peninsula; if necessary collaborationwith PRIM (Malaysia) could be established, where inves-tigations are being carried out on species found in thenorthern part of the country. However the correct name forthe plant investigated is required and for #his voucher(herbarium) specimens should be made or cited, otherwisethe results of the investigation will have no value, lackingthis vital basic reference point. In this case inventory workshould be conducted, during which much information oneach species in the Peninsula could be collected as well.

Extensive and intensive inventory work on bamboo in allparts of the country is essential in order to resolve taxo-nomic problems of Thai bamboo. Moreover in this inven-tory work, further species of bamboo will undoubtedly befound in Thailand, especially in the north eastern part ofthe country. The distribution of some bamboo species from

the bamboo rich areas (such as southern China) could beextended to Laos and Thailand.

AcknowledgementsThe trip to southern Thailand was part of the Kew (UK)Assistants field tour in Thailand conducted between9-29th April 1991. The trip was made possible andsuccessful with the generous help from the Herbarium(BKF), Royal Forest Department, Bangkok. I would like tothank the Kew team for allowing me to join them andBKF staff especially Mrs. Kongkanda Chayamarit andDr. Weerachai Nanakom. Observations on bamboo spe-cies from the northern part of the Malay Peninsula weremade in December 1990 during my service to the BambooProject conducted at FRIM, Malaysia, and tided byIDRC. I would like to thank IDRC and PRIM staff, espe-cially Mr. Azmy Hj. Mohamed and Mr. Abd. Razak Oth-man. I am most grateful to IDRC for finding the trip toattend this Workshop and other previous trips since 1980.

ReferencesHolttum, R.E. 1958. The bamboo of the Malay Peninsula.Gardens’ Bull. Singapore 16: l-135.Lin, W.C. 1968. Bamboo of Thailand (Siam). Bull. TaiwanFor. Res. Inst. (Special) 6: l-52.Nguyen, T.Q. 1990. New taxa of bamboo (Poaceae-Bambusoideae) from Vietnam. Bot. Zhum. (Leningrad)75( 2): 221-225.Smitinand, T. & Ramyarangsi, S. 1980. In Lessard &Chouinard, Bamboo Research in Asia (Proceedings),85-90.Widjaja, E.A. 1987. A revision of Malesian Gigantochloa(Poaceae-Bambusoideae). Reinwardtia 10 (3): 291-380.Wong, K.M. 1981. Flowering, fruiting and germination ofthe bamboo Schkostachyum zollingeri in Perlis. MalaysianForester 44(4): 453-463.Wong, K.M. 1989. Current and potential uses of bambooin Peninsular Malaysia. Journ. Amer. Bamboo Soc.7(1&2): 1-14.Wong. K.M. 1990. Gigantochloa balui (Poaceae-Bambusoideae), a Bornean bamboo new to science. For.Dept. Occ. Paper (Brunei) 1: l-l 0.

Bamboo in the Ma Pacific Proceedings 4th International Bamboo Workshop, 1991

Appendix I

List of Thai bamboo species (based on preliminaryinvestigation)

Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss. ex Vilm. Syn. B. arundina-tea (Retz.) Willd.B. blumeana Schult.B. burmanica Gamble, N.B. flexuosa Munro, NE.B. montana (Ridley) Holtt, PEN.B. multiplex (Lour.) Raeuschel Syn. B. glaucescens(Willd.) Sieb. ex MunroB. oliveriana Gamble, SW.B. polymorpha Munro, N & SW.B. sesquiflora (Lingnania sesquiflora McClure), N.B. tulda Roxb.B. vulgaris Schrad. ex Wendl.B. wrayi Stapf, PEN, doubtful.Bambusa sp. related to B. ridleyi, PEN.Cephalostachyum pergracile Munro, N.C. virgatum Kurz, N & NE.Dendrocalamus asper (Schult.) Backer ex HeyneD. brandisii (Munro) Kurz, N.D. dumosus (Ridley) Holtt., PEN.D. elegans (Ridley) Holtt., PEN.D. giganteus (Wall.) MunroD. hamiltonii Nees & Arn. ex Munro, SW, N, & NE.D. latifrorus Munro, C, cult.D. longiftmbriatus Gamble, NE & SW.D. membranaceus Munro, N, NE, WS.D. nudus Pilger, N.D. pendulus Ridley, PEN.D. sericeus Munro, NE.D. strictus (Roxb.) NeesDendrocalamus sp., PEN.Dinochloa andamanensis, PEN.D. maclellandii (Munro) Kurz, N.Dinochloa sp., PEN.

Gtgantochloa albociliata (or Dendrocalamus albociliata)G. compressa Parker, PEN.G. hasskarliana (Kurz) Backer ex Heyne, doubtfulG. latifolia Ridley, PEN & C.G. ligulatu Gamble, PEN.G. rostrata KM. Wong, PEN.G. scortechinii Gamble, PEN.G. wrclyi Gamble, PEN.Gigantochloa sp. related to G. balui Wong, PEN.Gigantochloa sp. related to G. nigrociliata, SW & C.Indosasa angustata McClure, E.Melocalumus compactiflorus (Kurz) Benth., N.Melocanna bacctferaMelocanna sp., NE.Neohouzeoua chrlloa (Gamble) A. Camus, N & E.N. mekongensis A. Camus, SW, N & C.Neohouzeoua sp., PEN.Phyllostachys aureaSchizostachyum aciculare Gamble, C.S. brachycladum KurzS. grande Ridl., PEN.S. zollingeri Steud., PEN.Schizostachyum sp., C. & SE.Teinostachyum sp. related to T griffithii Munro, C.Thyrsostachys siamensis (Kurz) GambleT oliveri Gamble, WS.Vietnamosasa ciliata (A. Camus) Nguyen, E.V pusilla (A. Camus) Nguyen, E.

Thailand Floristic Regions:

N =* Northern ThailandNE = North-Eastern ThailandE = Eastern ThailandSW = South-West ThailandPEN = Peninsular, South Thailand

4 Bamboo resources in Thailand: How Much Do We Know?

Bamboo in the Asia Pacific Proceedinns 4th International Bamboo Workshop, 1991

,Endemic Bamboo from Sumatra*

Elizabeth A.

lntrodwctionNo intensive bamboo inventory has been attempted in anyof the major islands of Indonesia so that the Sumatranbamboo diversity and distribution are not known. Conse-quently, at present it is difficult to present a picture of therarity or the endemism of the bamboos of this island. Re-cent field work (Widjaja, 1991) seems to indicate that ahigh number of the 56 species of bamboo recorded forSumatra have endemic distribution.

Unfortunately new developments have taken place whichneed serious attention. The rapid depletion of forests anddestruction of habitats due to logging activities, trans-migration, land clearing and the increasing number ofbamboo industries have caused the loss of bamboo popula-tions due to the lack of attention given to the wild, as wellas cultivated bamboos. Therefore an inventory is urgentlyneeded before the threatened species are lost forever.

Material and methodsA bamboo exploration and collection expedition was un-dertaken in Sumatra from Lampung in the south to Medanin the north of the island financed by IDRC grant. Duringthe exploration, herbarium specimens and living plantsamples of each species encountered were made. Theherbarium specimens will be deposited in BO, L and K,whereas the living plants will be planted in botanical gar-dens and arboreta both in Sumatra and Java both as spe-cies collection as well as for germplasm stocks. Based onthe study of the results of these collections the rarity andthe endemism of Sumatran bamboo are determined.

Results and discussionsTable 1 shows that 25 species ( 4 genera) out of 56 species(10 genera) of bamboo recorded as occurring in Sumatra,are known to grow endemically in this island. Fifteen spe-cies are found only in a limited area. No doubt this num-ber will change when the inventory and the study ofpopulation density of wild bamboo is completed.

It is very surprising that some species of the genus Den-drocalamus which were mostly introduced and are culti-vated in Indonesia were found growing wild in the forestmargins in Sumatra. It is known that the commonly

cultivated Dendrocalamus asper is also found wild in theforest margins at several areas in Indonesia. Thetentatively identified Dendrocalamus sp. 1 grows alongthe main road to Krui in Lampung Province. This specieswas seen abundantly for the first time in 1988, but it hasbeen disturbed by the road construction recently. Theamount of exploitation done by the local people is not veryclear, but they were observed using the culms for makingbaskets to collect sand and stones in the rivers. Fortunate-ly this species also grows in the Bukit Barisan Nature Re-serve, but nevertheless protection measures to safeguardthis species will be urgently needed. Dendrocalamus sp. 2grows in the Sipirok Nature Reserve but the depletion ofthe forest habitat makes the disappearance of this species,more rapid than in 1983. Dendrocalamus sp. 3 has neverbeen collected before; flowering specimens of this speciesare needed for further study. This species occurs only inthe Desa Pinggir Nature Reserve along the road to thelogging area. Only one grove has been found, so furtherexploration in the forest in this area is necessary to ascer-tain its rarity.

Populations of most species of Gigantochloa grow abun-dantly in Sumatra. However Gigantochloa pruriens hasbeen reported only in North Sumatra. There are many Su-matran species of Gigantochloa not collected thoroughlythough the local people have been using them for a longtime. Most of the unidentified species of Gigantochfoaalso grow in the Nature Reserves.

Schizostachyum caudatum has been reported to grow inBengkulu Province because the type locality formerly wasunder the administration of Bengkulu Province. In factthis species grows in G. Pesegi and was brought and culti-vated in Sukarame village, about 50 km on the way toKrui where the type locality is located, and which now isadministrated by the Lampung Province. This species hasa long historical association with the local people in Su-karame, in that it is only planted in the old graveyards.They do not use this bamboo due to their belief in itsmagical power. Other Schizostachyum species i.e. S.pleianthemum and S. undulatum were reported fromBengkulu and West Sumatra. It seems that several un-identified Schizostachyum have been found in the BukitBarisan Range which may represent the centre of diversi-

*Text accompanying poster display at Symposium **Herbarium Bogoriense, Puslitbang Biologi-LIPI,Bogor,Indonesia

AbstactTwenty five species of bamboo have been recorded as endemic to Sumatra. Of these only five species areknown systematically.Fifteen species are found in only a very limited area and some of them are used by lo-cal people. Although the depletion of forests has taken place rapidly.bamboos in Sumatra are still in a very

good condition. Only one species is really endangeredbacause it grows along the main road and so far onlyone grove has been located. A population density study of these endemic bamboos has not been undertaken.therefore an assessment of the biodiversity is recommended.


The uncertain genus is only represented by one grove the population density will be necessary for use in man-found growing along the main road from Muara Bungo to agement, balanced utilization and conservation.Jambi.

Because of the incomplete inventory of Indonesian bam-boo, from the data discussed above it seems that the de-gree of rarity of the bamboo species in Sumatra is veryhigh. Therefore it is suggested that an intensive inventoryof bamboo, a study on their diversity and assessment is ur-gently needed. Although most of the species mentionedabove are also found in Nature Reserves, an action planon conservation of these endemic bamboo in Sumatra andelsewhere in Indonesia has to be undertaken, preferablyafter the in population status has been studied. A study on

#ReferencesKurz, S. 1984. Korte schets der vegetatie van hat eilandBangka. Nat. Tijd. Ned. Ind. 27: 142-235.Van Hasselt, A.L. 1884. Lijst van bout-bamboe en rotansoorten. In Van Hasselt, A.L. & Boerlage, J.G. Bijdragentot de kennis der flora van midden Sumatra. 37-40.Widjaja, E.A. 1991. Exploring Bamboo Germplasm in Su-matra Indonesia. Paper presented on The IV InternationalBamboo Workshop, Chiangmai 27-30 November 1991.

6 Endemic Barnboo From Sumatra


Exploring Bamboo Germplasm in Sumatra, IndonesiaElizabeth1 A. Widjaja*

IntroductionBamboo play a very important role on the life of the ruralpeople and now is more important economically, due tothe development of several industries using bamboo asraw materials. Therefore an inventory of bamboo is veryu&id to find the bamboo suitable for specific purposes.Most studies limited themselves to the utilization of bam-boo and the related technologies, so they only referred tothe same species of known widely used bamboo. Due tothe development of biotechnology, many research staff arelooking for germ plasm to be used as stock in selectionand breeding work to improve bamboo production, includ-ing pest and disease resistant species and to improve thequality and quantity of the culms.

However intensive bamboo exploration has never beenmade in Indonesia although some botanists have collectedbamboo during general botanical expeditions in severalareas of the archipelago. This is also true for the island ofSumatra, so a general picture of the bamboo flora of thisisland is difficult to visualize. However, there are two im-portant publications on bamboo from Bangka (Kurz,1864) and Central Sumatra (van Hasselt, 1884) which canbe used as indication of the richness of the island. Thesepublications contain only checklists, the first using botani-cal names and the second, their vernacular names.

Based on these considerations a project on bamboo germ-plasm collection was initiated in Indonesia sponsored bythe IDRC through a grant to the Indonesian NationalCommittee for Germplasm Conservation. The first phaseof this study has been to collect bamboo germplasm, byexploration and inventory of bamboo in Sumatra, and alsothe gathering information on their distribution andutilization in the areas visited.

MethodologyExploration and collectionCollecting trips were undertaken by road in almost allProvinces of Sumatra. Visits to some Nature Reserves andlogging areas were made to collect wild bamboo; culti-vated bamboo were sampled wherever encountered.Living collections made and cultivated in a Bogor

nursery. Later, living plants will be distributed to Indone-sian Botanical Gardens - LIPI, the PUSPITEK SerpongBotanic Garden and the Arboretum of the Forest Depart-ment. Field data as : habitat, altitude, soil condition,phenological data, uses and so on were accumulated in thefield.

Taxonomic studyHerbarium specimens of each species seen or collectedwere made; taxonomic study was carried out on these andexisting collections. The identification of collected speci-mens was made in the Herbarium Bogoriense. Some ofthe herbarium specimens kept in Rijskherbarium, Leiden,and the Forest Research Institute Herbarium, Kepong,were borrowed for comparison. A further taxonomic studyis being prepared.

Results and discussionDue to the scarcity of flowering specimens, taxonomicstudies of bamboo were rarely attempted in the past. Themajor obstacle faced in studying Indonesian bamboo hasbeen the scarcity of representative collections, so that in-tensive field research was carried out. Kurz (1864) men-tioned the existence of 6 species of bamboo growing inBangka island, but during the field work in this island 15species were found growing wild and scattered and alsosome of these were cultivated as village and garden bor-ders. Van Hasselt (1884) published a list of 13 vernacularnames of bamboo from Central Sumatra without givingany identification. During these trips bamboo under thesame vernacular names were collected, not only fromCentral Sumatra, but also from Jambi, South and WestSumatra Provinces.

Based on the specimens collected in the field there are 56species (10 genera) of bamboo growing in Sumatra.Among them 11 species (6 genera) were introduced intocultivation in recent years as germplasm stock and also forornamental purposes. Due to the absence of referencespecimens preserved in Bogor, Kepong and Leiden her-baria, 22 species are as yet unidentified and even speciescould not even be assigned to its genus with certainty. Thediagnostic characters of these species are represented be-low and a brief account of some noteworthy species isgiven.

AbstractFifty six species of bamboo have been recorded from Sumatra during an exploration undertaken In December1990 to March 1991.include twenty two unidentified species and one species belonging to an uncertain ge-nus. Since no herbarium specimens have been available for comparison in major herbaria, the unidentifledspecies have apparently never been collected before although some of them have been mentioned by ban Has-

selt in his Central Sumatran list on bamboo published in 1884.The 56 species also include 11species intro-duced into Sumatra by a private plantation as germplasm stock. The uses and distribution of the species mentioned are discussed.


Bambusa Schreb.The genus Bambusa can be recognized by the slightly zig-zaging culm, rough aerial roots, shorter internodes andthe thick walled culms (except B. multiplex). It is alsocharacterized by one dominant lateral branch among nu-merous smaller lateral branches at each node growing inthe lower part. Branches of B. vulgaris var. vulgaris, var.striata and cv wamin grow on the upper parts only. Thespikelet of Bambusa has 2 to many florets on a long ra-chilla internode which terminates in reduced florets. Ev-ery floret possesses 3 stigmas.

There are two wild and five cultivated species of Bambusain Sumatra. The wild species grows mostly along riverbanks and also in disturbed forests. The cultivated speciesare mostly propagated for ornamental purposes (i.e. B.multiplex and Bambusa sp. 2) and also for germplasmstock (such as B. arundinacea, B. atra and B. forbesii).There are 2 varieties of B. vulgaris (var. vulgaris andvar.1) growing wild and also cultivated. Both varietieshave green culms, but var. vulgaris has a dull green culmwhereas the second variety has a shining green straighterculm. Bambusa sp. 1 is found only in Batam Isalnd. Thisspecies is very close to B. heterostachya from the MalayPeninsula; further study of this species is needed. Bambu-sa sp. 2 has variegated leaves and is grown as an orna-mental plant; a flowering specimen is needed to confirmits identity.

Cephalostachyum MunroThe genus Cephalostachyum is recognized in the field bythin and erect culms. C. pergacile was introduced fromThailand a few years ago and was also planted 3 years agofor germplasm stock. The identification of this plant needsto be confirmed again after flowering specimens areobtained.

Dendrocalamus NeesThe vegetative parts of this genus are very similar to thegenus Bambusa, so it is rather difficult to separate them.The culm is always straight, with dense aerial roots onlower nodes. The lower internodes are shorter than theupper ones (except in D. latiflorus). The upper parts of theyoung culms are covered by a white waxy powder. Onedominant lateral branch among numerous smallerbranches is also found on this genus. The spikelet of thisgenus has 1 to many florets on the hardly visible rachillainternodes. Every floret has 1 stigma and free filaments.

Of the nine species of Dendrocalamus found in Sumatra3 are growing wild in Nature Reserves and are found onlyin small populations. One species, D. asper grows widelyin Sumatra, sometimes found growing wild and weed likein several forests. The other four species (D. giganteus, Dstrictus, D. brandisii and D. membranaceus) were cultivated in Lampung Province for germplasm stock only andwere introduced from Bogor (originally from Burma) andThailand. D. latiflorus was introduced from Taiwan forshoot production purposes in 1970 and it was found

flowering in 1991. The other three unidentified specieswere found in the forest. All of them grow by leaning ontoother plants and are characterized by a waxy powder ontheir culms and the papery margin of their culm sheaths.Dendrocalamus sp. 1 and sp. 2 were characterized by hav-ing long and climbing branches. I have never seen anybamboo with climbing branches like those species. Thethird unidentified species is characterized by its penduloustiipped culm.

BuseDinochloa is the only bamboo which possess a climbingHabit with zigzag culms and a dormant primary branchbud among the small and short lateral branches. The ma-ure culms of this genus are mostly solid. This genus canbe recognized by the distinctive rugose bases of the culm

iheaths. The inflorescence is characterized by the pres-once of a number of very small spikelets which produceberry like endospermless fruits with fleshy pericarp.

During these trips only one species, Dinochloa scandenswas found growing in West Sumatra and Riau Provincesincluding Batam Island), but it is expected that it will befound also in other Provinces.

Gigantochloa Kurz ex MunroThe genus Gigantochloa is characterized by sessile floretswith a terminal empty lemma. Some florets possess unitedfilaments and others have free filaments. The vegetativeparts of this genus resemble those of Bambusa and Den-drocalamus on having one dominant lateral branch, buttheir culms are straight with aerial roots and mostly with-out white wax (except in Gigantochloa sp. 4).

Of 17 species of Gigantochloa growing in Sumatra, eightare unidentified. Gigantochloa sp. 1 has a green culmwith yellow stripes or sometimes with reddish yellowstripes. This species is characterized by the possession of arim like auricle on its culm sheath with long bristles. Onhis list of Bangka plants Kurz (1870) mentioned Gigan-tochloa maxima but the plant mentioned by him probablyrepresented this species, as it was found abundantly in theisland and G. maxima ‘did not grow there. The second un-identified species Gigantochloa sp. 2 also has a yellowstriped culm when young. Its culm sheath is covered bydense black hairs. A flowering specimen is needed foridentification, Gigantochloa sp. 3 has appressed culmsheaths with dense black hairs covering the culm sheathand a rim like auricle and long bristles on the ligule of theculm sheath. This species is very similar to Gigantochloascortechinii from Malay Peninsula, but further study onits flowering specimens is needed for confirmation. Gi-gantochloa sp. 4 also has an appressed culm sheath,rounded auricle with long bristles and bristly blade base.Gigantochloa sp. 5 has young shoot characteristics verysimilar to Gigantochloa sp, 3 but it differ in having a ca-ducous culm sheath and dense brown hairs covering theleaf sheath. A long prophyll covers its clustered spikeletand this feature characterizes this species, Gigantochloasp. 6 is characterized by brown velvety hairs on the nodes.

8 Exploring Bamboo Germplasm In Sumatra Indonesia

Dinochloa


Gigantochloa sp. 7, found only in Bangka Island, has agreen culm with yellow strip and culm sheath auricle rim-like with iong bristles. Gigantochfoa sp. 8 has appressedhair on its young culm.

Melocanna Trin.The genus Melocanna has long neck rhizomes(monopodial type) and the culms grow singly and erect.This genus can be recognized by its appressed culmsheaths with wavy apex, and long, narrow and curvedblades. It has a large endospermless fiuit with thick per-icarp and large scutellum.

This genus consists of only one species M bacciferuwhich was only introduced into cultivation for germplasms t o c k .

Phyllostachys Sieb. et Zucc.Phyllostachys has also long neck rhizomes, so culm char-acters are similar to the genus Melocanna. Branches typi-cally are only two in each node. Nodes have a grove nearthe branches, so it can be easily recognized even if theculms are dried.

The only species found in Sumatra is Phylfostuchys aurea.This species was introduced into the cultivation as an or-namental plant and also has been maintained as germ-plasm stock.

Schizostachyum NeesThe genus Schizostuchyum is characterized by its long in-ternodes, its thin walled culms (except for Schizostuchyumcaudatum which has solid culms), with many equal shortbranches at each node. This genus produces flowers con-tinuously; the spikelets are terminal or sometimes on theleafless branchings.

There are 16 species of Schizostachyum growing in Suma-tra, nine of which are unidentified. Schizostuchyum sp. 1is characterized by an erect to spreading blade of the culmsheath, and inconspious culm sheath auricle. Schizosta-chyum sp. 2 has triangular blade with wavy margin and isvery similar to S. brachycladum and to S. undulatum.Schizostachyum sp. 3 has very long culm so that it leansonto other plants; its culm sheath’s auricle can hardly beseen and bears a few bristles. Schizostachyum sp. 4 is thecommon thin bamboo in Sumatra which has an appressedculm sheath and a conspicuous auricle up to 3mm withlong bristles. Schizostachyum sp. 5 has a big and roundedculm sheath auricle which bears few, and long bristles;the leaf auricle curves outward and bristly. This species isvery similar to a variety of S. bruchycladum mentioned byHolttum (1958), but a further close comparative study isneeded. Schizostachyum sp. 6 has very small culm, only0.5- lcm in diameter but long, up to 15 m, so the clumpusually scrambles onto other plants. This swamp lovingbamboo is close to the S. tenue-S, gracile complex.Schkostachyum sp. 7 has a rounded and outward culm

sheath auricle bearing few bristles; its scar sheath is stillappressed, and glabrous shoots. Schizostuchyum sp. 8 isvery similar to Schizostuchyum sp. 6, but differs in theleaf size and clustering system of the spikelet. Schizosta-chyum sp. 9 has yellow stripes on the lower culm; its culmsheath auricle is small, rounded with sheath extensioncurved inward to protect the auricle; their ligules membra-naceous and extended by the sheath extension.

Thyrsostachys GambleI’he genus Thyrsostachys has a very dense clump and theculms are slender and erect with thick wall and short in-ternodes; branches are few and seen only at the upperparts. The culm sheath is appressed so that the culm lookswhitish green and dirty.

This introduced genus consists of only one species foundin cultivation, It was introduced as an ornamental plant.

Uncertain genusThis bamboo is characterized by scrambling habit withone level branch developed as big as the main culm espe-cially when the main stem is cut off. The smaller lateralbranches are not developed. The inflorescence forms ter-minally; only one clump has been found of this bamboo.

Bamboo utilization in SumatraThe most important uses of bamboo in Sumatra is for dai-ly household tools and utensils in rural areas. Only a fewpeople build houses using bamboo in Sumatra becausewood is not difficult to obtain. In several areas people usebamboo for roofing. However people gather bamboo moreintensively in certain localities for biga, a kind of crystalobtained from the inside of the bamboo internodes. Thecrystals are exported to Singapore for medicinal purposes.Based on field observation biga can be obtained only fromthe following species: S. zollingeri, Schizostachyum sp. 4,Gigantochloa sp. 3 and Gigantochloa sp. 4. To obtainbiga one should cut mature culms but some people de-structively bum clumps to get biga easier.

There are about five registered chopstick industries estab-lished in Sumatra. The industry does not maintain anybamboo plantations for the raw material they need, so thatthey depend on the natural stand which sometimes growsvery far from their factory locality. Beside the chopstickindustry there are some canning industries in Sumatra.Most of them have not been selective in the species, but afew used the best species only i.e. Dendrocalamus asper tomeet the consumer requirement. Furniture industries havealso developed rapidly in several areas although the quali-ty and quantity are still very low so they are suitable onlyfor local use. Basketry and handicrafts are commonly metwith as home industries in the villages, but recently someof them have developed under a patronage system, and thehandicraft industries are developing better.

Exploring bamboo germplasm in sumatra indonesia 9


Distribution of SumatranbambooMost species found are distributed widely in Sumatra but25 species seemed to grow endemically in one area asshown on Table 1. There are some species such as Di-nochloa scandens and Schizostachyum sp 6 which growonly in the lowland, whereas Schizostachyum sp 6 growsin the swampy area. The wild species of the genera ofDendrocalamus, Gigantochloa and some Schizostachyumgrow mostly in the Bukit Barisan Range, which probablyrepresents the centre of the bamboo diversity in Sumatra.The wild species in the eastern part of Sumatra are domi-nated by the genus Schizostachyum.

Many cultivated species introduced from Java as : Bambu-sa vulgaris var. maculata Widjaja var. nov. ined., Gigan-tochloa apus and Gigantohcloa atroviolacea, werebrought mostly by the Javanese, Balinese or Maduresepeople when they transmigrated to Sumatra a long timeago.

From Table 2 it can be seen that the South SumatraProvince has a greater number of the wild species growing

in Sumatra and is followed by Jambi and West SumatraProvinces. It is expected that Bengkulu Province also hasa high number of wild species. It can be concluded, thatthe central part of Sumatra along the Bukit Barisan Rangerepresents the centre of bamboo diversity. The muuber ofspecies growing in Sumatra could change when AcehProvince is explored. Based on the data accumulated inthe field it is suggested that such a bamboo inventoryshould be done for other areas as well, so that informationof bamboo potential could be gathered for use in futuredevelopment considerations.

ReferencesHolittum, R.E. The bamboo of the Malay Peninsula. Gard.Bull. Sing. 16: l-l 35.Kurz, S. 1884. Korte schets der vegetatie van het eilandBangka. Nat. Tijd. Ned. Ind. 27:142-235.Van Hasselt, A.L. 1884. Lijst van hout-bamboe en rotansoorten. In: Van Hasselt, A.L. & Boerlage, J.G. Bijdragentot de kennis der flora van midden Sumatra; 37-40.Widjaja, E.A. 1991. Exploring Bamboo Germplasm in Su-matra Indonesia. Paper presented on The IV InternationalBamboo Workshop, Chiangmai 27 - 30 November 1991.

1 0 Exploring Bamboo Germplasm In Sumatra indonesia

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1 4 Exploring Bamboo Germqdasm In Sumatra indonesia


Five Genera of Bambusoideae (Gramineae)recently Discovered in Yunnan, China

Chi Ju Hsueh (i.e. Xue Ji ru)* De Zhu Li**

Introduction The five generaYunnan Province is located in the southwest of China.Geographically it lies between 21” 8’ 32” and 29” 15’18”north latitude and 97” 31’ 39” and 106" 11’ 27” east lati-tude with a total area of 383,000 sq. kilometers. TheTropic of Cancer passes through the south of the Province.Topographically, the north is higher. The elevation rangeis 6,740 to 70 m . It has not only northern tropic and sub-tropic climate latitudinally but a climate range from sub-tropic in the valleys to an alpine cold zone.

Chimonocalamus Hsueh et Yi (1979)The genus, with thirteen species and one variety, has itscenter of distribution in South Yunnan. It can classifiedinto the Sino-Himalayan type. There are nine species inYunnan, some four species in adjacent NE India and Bur-ma, and another species also in SE Tibet (see Table 1).

As a result of the complicated geomorphology and theprominent three dimensional climate differentiation, a di-versified vegetation is found in the Province : tropical rainforest; monsoon forest; laurilignosa; aestilignosa and aci-culignosa distributed from the south to the north. The ve-getation is formed in four to five layers in verticaldistribution from the subtropical laurilignosa, evergreendeciduous mixed broad leafed forest, to the sub alpine aci-culignosa, alpine shrubs and alpine meadows and the ice-boundary vegetation. Bamboo is an important element inthe natural vegetation of Yunnan. The Albies-Sinarundinaria community, a sub-alpine vegetation, is agood example of this. Sinarundinaria is the main food forthe giant panda, which has its center of distribution in SWChina, especially in Yunnan Province.

Chimonocalmus are very important bamboo in the moun-tainous area of Yunnan, especially in the altitude between1,500-2,300 meters. It is usually the dominant plant underthe broad leafed forests. The vegetative features, exceptthe rhizome system, and the distributional habitats of thegenus are similar to that of Chimonobambusa. A Japanesebotanist (Nakai, 1925) dealt with Chimonocalamus griffi-thinus as Chimonobambusa grifithiana but the inflores-cence type, the structure of the spikelets and florets followthe Sinarundinaria type, Rhizomes of Chimonocalamusare sympodial with no neck. Chimonocalamus is alsocharacterized by its fragrant essential oils in the culms.The main constituents of the essential oils are sesquiterpe-noids, e.g. caryophyllane, humulane, nerolidol (M. Feng& Hsueh). These have provided a solid base for the estab-lishment of the genus with phytotaxonomic evidence.

From the point of view of phytogeography, the Yunnanbamboo form a series of floristic elements. Dendrocala-mus, Cephalostachyum and Thyrsostachys are E. Asian(Indo-Malaysian) elements, and have a natural distribu-tion in South Yunnan, especially in Xishuangbanna andDehong Autonomous Prefectures. Indosasa and Lingnania(Bambusa subg. Lingnania) have their center of distribu-tion in SE. Yunnan; the two genera are also distributed inthe neighboring Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces andin N. Vietnam. The bamboo elements of NE Yunnan arethe same as that of Sino-Japanese floristic region, espe-cially that of central China; Phyilostachys is a representa-tive of this. Nearly two hundred species are found in theProvince. This paper introduces some genera discoveredin the past twelve years by the Chinese botanists.

Because of its fragrant essential oils young shoots of Chi-monocalamus species are delicious vegetables. The inter-nodes of Chimonocalamus flmbriatus are used ascontainers for a special exported tea.

Qiongzhuea Hsueh et Yi (1980)Qiongzhuea of the tribe Shibataeae, is similar to Chimo-nobambusa in the inflorescences and spikelet structure.The main differences is in the reproductive organs whichin Qiongzhuea have primary pseudospikelet branching,bracts and nut like fruits. The shoot growth is often initi-ated in spring and the shoot is never black due to the reac-tion of enzymes. The culm nodes are usually prominentand have no spine like root primordia.

Yunnan is the modem center of distribution of woodybamboo. The bamboo recognized by early authors (Y. L.Keng, 1959) showed only six species of three genera. Re-cently 170 species have been recognised here. It is esti-mated there are nearly 200 species of bamboo in Yunnan.The five genera mentioned in this paper are some repre-sentatives. Further study on these bamboo is not only ofscientific significance but also of great economic value.There remain many interesting problems to be solved.

The genus Qiongzhuea comprises eight species and oneform, D. Z. Li & Hsueh, 1988 (Table 2). It has its naturaldistribution in central Chinas’ floristic region (C. Y. Wu,1979) Sichuan, Hubei, Guizhou Provinces and NE Yun-nan. The natural altitude of the genus ranges from860-2,600 meters, mostly around 1,500-2,100 meterswhich is the area in which Chimonobambusa grows. Thehabitat of Qiongzhuea is mostly as understory in ever-green broad leaf forests.

The presently known distribution shows the genus is en-demic to China, falling into the central China endemic

Five genera of Bambusoldeae(Gratnineae) Recently discovery in Yunnan, China


Table 1: List of Chiimnocalamus species and their distributionscientific Name Locality ElevationC. delicatus Hsueh et YiC. pallens Hsueh et Yi*C. fmbriatus Hsueh et YiC. longiligulatus Hsueh et YiC montanus Hsueh et YiC makuanensis Hsueh et YiC longiusculus Hsueh et YiC. dumosus Hsue h et Yi

var. dumosusvar. pygmaeus Hsueh et Yi

C tortuosus Hsueh et YiC. ga/latlyi(Gamble) Hsueh et YiC griffithianus (Munro) Hsueh et Yi

C burmaensis (C.S. Chao et Renoize)Hsueh et D.Z. Li, comb. nov.

C. longispiculatus (C.S.Chao et Renoize)Hsueh et D.Z. Li, comb. nov.

SE YunnanSE YunnanSW YunnanS YunnanSW YunnanSE YunnanSE Yunnan

SE YunnanSW YunnanSW Yunnan, SE TibetAmherst, BurmaNE India, Thaton,Burma

Burma

Burma

1,400-2,000 m

1,740 m1,700-l 900 m

1 , 6 5 0 m

1,500 m

1 , 6 5 0 m1,200- l ,5 0 0 m

*Karyotpofthespecies: 2n=4x=48=15m (SAT) + 8sm (SAT) + 1stgroup according to the C. Y. Wu (1965, 1983) concept,while Chimonobambusa is of the Sino-Himalayan type. Arecent study of cytology (F. Du & Hsueh) shows thekaryotype of Qiongzhuea tumidinoda is

2n=4x=48=14m+8sm(SAT)+2st, which may be classifiedinto 2C type while Chimonobambusa microflora may berecognized as 2B type. We have some reasons to proposehere that Qiongzhuea is a sister group (W. Hennig, 1965)of Chimonobambusa, and it forms a monophyletic andmore advanced group able to adapt itself to the colderenvironments.

Young shoots of Qiongzhuea are traditional vegetables inthe distributional area, of these Q. tumidinoda is the bestone. Shoots of the species are exported to Japan and othercountries. The species has been very famous for its culmssince the Han Dynasty, i.e. 1,200 years ago, and in ancienttimes reached Persia via India. We guess that there was a“south silk way” from SW China to Persia in those an-cient times. It was through this mysterious route that com-modities like Qiong Zhu culms and Sichuan clothes wereintroduced into India, Central Asia, Europe and evenAfrica.

Qiongzhuea tumidinoda is one of the two species of Bam-busoideae in the List of Chinese Preserved Plants, whichhas been adopted by the China Natural ConservationAdministration.

Ferrocafamus Huesh et Keng, f. (1982)Both Ferrocalamus and Indocalamus have terminal pan-icles; multi-floreted and pedicelled spikelets; florets withthree stamens and three lodicules; large leaves and

unibranchlet. The two genera fall into the tribe Arudina-rieae. The differences are: rhizome monopodial versusamphipodial; lemma apex pubescent; palea also pubescentand non-bifid; style single; fruit berry like in Ferrocala-mus; in addition, Indocalamus is a small shrub like bam-boo while Ferrocafamus is arbor like, 5-7-9 meters tall.

A monotypic genus, Ferrocalamus is only known in Yun-nan Province’s southern area, at elevations of 900-1,200meters. The accompanying species include Pandanus tec_torius, Callicarpa macrophylla, Begonia spp., Microste-gium sp., and Angiopteris evecta. It is an endemic genusto China of tropical distribution. Cytological studies onYunnan bamboo (F. Du & Hsueh) show that Ferrocala-mus has a karyotype of 2n=4x=48=1M+13m (SAT) + 4sm+ 5st + lT, falling into 2B type. This suggests that it has aclose relationship with Indocalamus. The symmetry of ka-xyotype in Ferrocalamus is larger than that of Indocala-mus. Evidence from cytology may support the genus asmore primitive than Indocalamus, its sister group whichhas a type of east Asia.

The culm of Ferrocalamus is hard. Hence the local resi-dents, “Kuchong” call it “iron bamboo”. The Kuchongpeople have a long history of hunting they use the bambooas an arrow. The culm is a good material for makingchopsticks and making weaving sticks also.

Leptocanna Chia et Fung, H.L. (1981)To date only one species has been named in the genus.The species, Leptocanna chinensis, is a shrub like bamboowith a pendent upper part of its culm, sometimes the bam-boo is a climber. Originally, L. chinensis was treated as a

1 6 Five genera of Bambusoideae (Gramineae) recently discovered in Yunnan, China


Table 2: Qiongzhuea species and their distributionScientific Name ProvinceQiongzhuea tumidinoda Hsueh et Yi Sichuan, Yunnan

Q. macrophylla Hsueh et Yi

E l e v a t i o n1,400-2,000 m

f: macrophyllaf: leiboensis Hsueh et D.Z.Li

Q. intermedia Hsueh et D. Z. LiQ. communis Hsueh et YiQ. puberula Hsueh et YiQ. luzhiensis Hsueh et YiQ. rigidula Hsueh et YiQ. opienensis Hsueh et Yi

SichuanSichuanSichuanSichuan, GuizhouCuizhouGuizhouSichuanSichuan.

1,430 m1,430 m

1,250-l ,800 m

1,300-l,700 m

species of Schizostachyum. After careful study on the typematerial (flowering branchlets awith leaves, A. Henry10420, K) and field investigation in the type locality,Mengzi in Yunnan, Chia and H. L. Fung (198 1) created anew generic name, Leptocanna for the species. Leptocan-na is an intermediate genus between Melocanna and Schi-zostachyum in the phylogenetic process. It is differentfrom the former by its sympodial, caespitose culms, spike-lets with one fertile floret and one sterile floret (lemma),palea spice bicarinate, and from the latter by its, three lo-dicules and erect vagina blade.

It grows in the mountainous ever green broad leaf forestand Leptocanna is endemic to Yunnan, China, in eleva-tions of 1,500-2,500 meters. The chromosone numbers ofL. chinensis are 2n=6x=72, the same as Melocanna bac-cifera (F. Du & Hsueh). It seems Leptocanna is moreprimitive than Schizostachyum; both genera have a tropi-cal floristics origin.

The name, Leptocanna, Lepto (from Greek) thin, canna(also from Greek), cane, alludes to the bamboo with itsthin culm wall, as thin as 2-3 mm. The culm is a verygood material for weaving. The native residents in SEYunnan also use it for making “Gao-Sheng”, a kind of na-tive rocket used in celebration festivals.

Monocladus Chia, H. L; Fung etYang,Y.L. (1988)The genus was published in 1988 with four original spe-cies. A recent expedition to the Gaoligong Shan Moun-

tains Natural Preserve by the Southwestern ForestryCollege and the Forests Department of the Yunnan Pro-vincial Government has discovered a fifth species in Yun-nan. It is certainly a new species and also newgeographical distribution of Monocladus to the Province.

Monocladus is a shrub-like, large leaf, slender culmed andunibranchleted bamboo. The vegetative parts look like In-docalamus but the rhizomes and inflorescences are quitedifferent. Monocladus belongs to the tribe Melocanneaeversus Arundinarieae on account of the sympodial rhi-zome, iterauctant inflorescence and glabrous ovary.

The geographical distribution of the genus shows Mono-cladus is of a south China (incl. Hainan Is.) and Yunnandisjunction (Table 3). Another genus of bamboo of thattype is Ampelocalamus (S. L. Chen et al. 1981; Hsueh &D. Z. Li, 1987). It is very interesting that the two generaare tropical climbers.

The Yunnan counterpart species are not grown in thesouthern part of the Province but in the valleys of Salweenand Yang-tze rivers where it is much warmer due to thefoehn wind or chinook effect. In geological history Hainanisland was separated from mainland China early, beforethe separation of the Taiwan islands. This indicates thetwo genera are very old bamboo to say the least.

The leaves of Monocfadus are one of the best materials formaking Zhong Zhi, a popular food in the traditional Chi-nese Dragon Boat Festival (fifth of the fifth lunar month).It is also good for making rain proof hats,

Table 3: Geographical distribution of Monocladus

S peciesMonocladus levigatus Chia et al.M. saxatilis chia et a/

M. solidus (C.D.Chu et C.S.Chao) Chia

ProvinceHainan

Guangdong, GuangxiGuangxiCuangxi

Elevation250-700 m400-750 m300-500 m

M. sp. nov. ined Yunnan 1,200 m

Five genera of Bambusoideae (Gramineae) recently discovered in Yunnan, China 1 7

M.amplecaulis Chia et al.


Ochlandra (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset ofForests in Kerala - South India

S. Chand Basha*

IntroductionReed (Ochlandra) forms one of the most important sourceof long flbre raw material to the paper and pulp industry.It is also very important as it provides much income to theScheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and other poor tradi-tional reed workers who make mats, baskets and other ar-ticles of local use. Although the reed raw material playsan important role in the economy of the State, especiallyamong the underprivileged sections of the Society, the re-source is being exploited in a ruthless and unscientificmanner.

The present paper attempts to throw light on the techno-ecological and socio-economic aspects of this valuable rawmaterial in the forests of Kerala.

DistributionOchlandra is widely distributed in the forests of Keralaexcept in grass lands and dry deciduous forests situated inthe leeward side of the Western Ghats. The man-made fo-rests and high level subtropical and temperate forests alsolack reed growth. There are seven species and one varietybelonging to this genus in Kerala. The widely distributedand common species, which are found growing in abun-dance, are Ochlandra travancorica, 0. travancorica (var)hirsuta and 0. scriptoria (Figure 1). Ochlandra travan-corica Benth ex Gamble is a big size reed occurring wide-ly as an undergrowth in the low level evergreen andsemievergreen forests. Pure patches which grow as im-penetrable thickets are also found along the sides of riversand streams where other tree species are not allowed tocome up. This species is more abundant in South Kerala,especially, in the forests of Thiruvananthapuram, Then-mala, Ranni, Konni etc. It is also found growing as a pio-neer species in abandoned cultivated lands. Extensiveareas were brought under shifting cultivation by the tribalsof Travancore in the last and the early present century andthe lands abandoned by them often becomes covered withthickets of this reed (0. travancorica), though before

of it growing in the forests of Travancore. Bourdillon(1892) could see the reed (0. travancorica) forming “theundergrowth of forests over immense areas in differentparts of the country and near the crest of hills it often oc-cupied the whole of the ground, covering the slopes withdense and almost impenetrable thickets”.

Ochlandra scriptoria (Dennst) CEC Fischer (0. rheedii)is found along the stream banks in the lower elevations.This is a small and thin reed widely distributed in theSouthern Kerala and in smaller proportions in the North-em part.

Now the reed areas have considerably dwindled in extentand are remaining as discontinuous patches with poorgrowth.

Ochlandra beddomeii Gamble is another species foundgrowing in large stretches in the Silent Valley evergreenforests where the soil tends to be marshy due to impededdrainage and very high rainfall (Ayyar 1935, Basha1987). This situation almost leads to the absence of regen-eration of tree species due to thick and impenetrablegrowth of reeds and also due to water logging.

Very localised distribution is found in the case of Ochlan-dra ebracteata Raizada & Chatterjee, 0. setigera Gambleand 0. wightii Fischer (Figure 2). 0. ebracteata is foundlocalised in Thiruvananthapuram forest areas and 0.wightii has a very restricted distribution in Achencoil andThenmala. 0. setigera Gamble is a species not reportedform other places except Nilambur. 0. travancorica var.hirsuta is found in forest areas of Thenmala, Ranni, Kon-ni, Achencoil and Thiruvananthapuram. Another specieswas recently identified as 0. sivagiriyana Camus is lo-cated only at Sholayar. (Muktesh Kumar, 1990).

Of all the reed species, only 0. travancorica, 0. tra-vancorica (var) hirsuta and 0. scriptoria are of high in-dustrial value. The other species have only local use andthe quantity available is very small.

clearing was made there may have been only a few chlumps


Ecological status of reed forestsTwo types of reed forests occur in Kerala viz., primaryand secondary.

Primary formationsThe reed vegetation retains its stability unless drasticallydisturbed by anthropogenic factors. The permanency ofgrowth is brought about by either impeded drainage orhigh rainfall. In these conditions the reeds may grow as apure crop or as undergrowth in evergreen forests wherecanopy is either closed or the trees grow as standards inthe ‘sea’ of reeds. These variants are described below:

Pure reed formations without any sort of either under-growth or overgrowth occur in certain isolated localitieslike Pooyamkutty, Gooderical etc. They are stable underthe given conditions and are therefore climax formations.The stability is perpetuated due to the peculiar nature ofperiodic flowering and copious regeneration in the samelocality, which is highly moist. If the soil conditions areidentical the growth gradually spreads to the adjacent lo-calities but keeps continuity with the existing formation.These are to be considered as edaphic climax formationsbrought about by the peculiar moisture conditions.

Reed formations occur naturally in association with treespecies especially in the evergreen forests where the tellu-ric conditions are very favourable. Such patches are foundgrowing in most parts of the Southern Kerala and in theSilent Valley National Park. Here too, two types of faciescan be found.

There are large stretches of reeds where evergreen treeslike Calophyllum elatum, Bischofia javanica, Poeciloneu-ron indicum etc. grow as scattered standards. Ayyar(1935) considered such formations as Reed - Calophyllumand Reed-Poeciloneuron associations. Basha (1977) con-cluded from detailed surveys that these associations weredue to local preponderance or due to the gregarious habitof certain species, as well as the fundamental role ofedaphic factors and altitudinal variations. These are re-garded as edaphic facies by Pascal (1988). The stability ismaintained by the asphyxiating condition preventing thetree regeneration to come up and also by high moistureconditions which prevent the entry of fire into the area.The edaphic climax nature is so fragile that disturbance byfire, if any, may cause considerable change to theconstitution.

Vast stretches of reeds in the medium elevation areasgrow as understorey in the evergreen forests which havealmost a closed canopy. The growth is not thick enough toprevent the regeneration of trees. The reed growth is high=ly shade tolerant. As long as poor drainage conditions aremaintained under the evergreen canopy, the formation isstable and can be regarded as special facies (Pascal,1988).

Secondary formations;econdaxy formations have originated in areas wherehifting cultivation was practiced by tribals, a practice inrogue from very olden days. These formations are avail-able only in the southern parts of Kerala. According toBourdillon (1892) “the system of hill-cultivation is mostwasteful and has destroyed immense areas of valuable for-est land in the past, while its continuance in the presentprevents the growth of good timber. The land selected inthe first instance for clearing and cultivation has always,been covered by heavy moist forests.....its place being tak-en by dense thickets of reeds”. The species so found areOchlandra travancorica, 0. scriptoria and rarely 0. bed-domeii. This condition will lead to evergreen or semiever-green forests with an undergrowth of Ochlandra (Pascal,1988). Such forests were considered as “Open moist fo-rests" by Velu Pillai (1919). If further biotic interferenceis prevented the status will be maintained as the growth isconditioned by poor and ill drained soil.

pascal (1988) considered the secondary formations ofreeds as Ochlandra brakes formed due to disturbancecaused in the forest by man. He relates the origin of reedDrakes to two reasons. Some have an edaphic origin local-ised near water courses with poorly drained soil and henceconstitute a climax facies rather than a degradationalstage; others result from over exploitation and clearfellingof the primary forest.

Abandoning cardamom cultivation in the past has beenregarded by Pascal (1988) as one of the most importantcauses for the appearance of reed brakes. Once thecultivation is stopped, the undergrowth is generally in-vaded by reeds which prevent all other types of regenera-tion. The invasion of fire during the dry season graduallyenlarges the opening leading to occupation of the wholeareas by reeds forming pure reed brakes. Such formationswill stabilize so long as heavy biotic pressure is kept away.The regeneration of the isolated arborescent heliophytes,which grow as standards over the mass of reeds, is highlyimpeded by the thick and impenetrable growth of reeds.

Fire, a devastating agent in the forests, caused by high an-thropic pressure, plays a very important role in changingthe ecology of these reed forests. Due to the high combus-tible tendency the reed forest bums like crackers and theoverground portion is destroyed. The rhizome which re-mains underground puts forth new growth to replace thelost parts. Fire also destroys trees and other vegetationleading to heavy opening of the canopy where the reedsspread very fast leading to the formation of Ochlandrabrakes which are often stable (Pascal, 1988). When thebrake is composed of 0. travancorica, the few seedings ofheliophytes growing in their shade have to wait for a longtime before getting a chance to grow (Adriel, 1966). Thiscan be regarded as a subtype which is conditioned withbiotic influences (Iyppu, 1960).

Repeated yearly working of the reed areas without due re-gard to the closure season from June to September de-pletes the reed forests. If by chance there is any fire during

Ochlandra (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in Kerala -South India 1 9


the dry season the set back caused to this type of forest canbe very drastic leading to a high degree of degradation.The wound takes a very long time to heal though the iden-tity of the reed forest will be kept up due to its peculiargregarious nature and capability of the rhizome to survivethe fire attack. Repeated clearfellings and fires followedby anthropic pressure (Pascal, 1988) in extreme cases notonly alters the structure of the reed formation but alsoleads to the invasion of grasses leading to the establish-ment of grasslands or savanna. In most cases the changeis irreversible due to the complete destruction of the rhi-zomes and the difficulty for heavy seeds to reach isolatedplaces from the flowering localities. Further, flowering isonly a periodic phenomenon as the species is monocrapic.

Growing stockThe exact growing stock of reeds in the State has still notbeen estimated. As per a preinvestment survey report of1968, there were about 10,000 km2 of reed forests with anannual availability of 500,000 t of air dry reeds (Asari,1978). This was found to be a wrong assessment as the to-tal area under forest was only 9,400 km2 during 1973 andthis included plantations, high elevation forests, dry fo-rests and grasslands which do not support reed growth.

Subsequently the Forest Resources Survey conducted byChandrasekharan (1973) estimated the reed areas as 185km2, with a growing stock of 4,560,OOO t. The allowableannual cut was prescribed as 2.45 % of the growing stockie. 112,000 t (air dry) (Chandrasekharan, 1973).

On the basis of yet another survey, the reed areas werereassessed as 869 km2 (Asari, 1978). Detailed survey wasconducted in the reed catchments earmarked for KeralaNews Print Factory by Asari in 1977-78. This survey re-vealed 717 km* falling under three categories, viz. scat-tered distribution - 351.45 km’, dense occurrence -325.875 km’ and pure reed areas - 39.6 km’. The yield es-timated from the above was 189,000 t (green) per annum.Taking into consideration all the previous surveys and thepresent field conditions the Department of Forests as-sessed the availability of reeds in Kerala as 350,000 t perannum (air dry).

At this point it is also to be mentioned that the total forestarea lost between 1940 to 1970 amounts to 3,450 km’(Chandrasekharan, 1973). Subsequent rough estimatescollected by the Hindustan News Print Ltd. reveal thatfrom 1970 to 1990 the total reed area lost permanentlywas 55 km’. About 50 km2 was found to be degraded dueto poor regeneration as a result of gregarious flowering in1980’s (in Malayattoor and Vazhachal Divisions). About100 km2 area fell within the Wildlife Sanctuaries and Na-tional Parks, with the result the extraction of green reedshad to be stopped in order to conserve fodder for wild elephants which otherwise very often cause crop damages.

The present total requirement for the large scale industriesis 274,000 t while the requirement for the traditional sec-tor under the Bamboo Corporation is 30,000 t per year.The direct use for traditional workers near forest areas,

clandestine collection, collection for house hold purposes,is approximately estimated to be 10,000 t. As against thetotal requirement of 304,000 t for the industries and thecorporation (except direct collection), the actual collectionalways remained much less as can be seen from Table 1.

Data furnished in the above table clearly reveal that inspite of the intensive collection made by different agen-cies, it is difficult to attain even 50% of the requirement.This shows that the reed resource is not rich enough toyield 304,000 t of reeds per annum not to speak of350,000 t as assessed by the Department. A detailed sur-vey embodying modem techniques is absolutely necessaryto arrive at a clear picture of the actual availability of reedresource.

Though there is a shortfall in the supply for industries,there will not be much deficit for the private enterpreneursand other categories of people whose requirement, all puttogether, may be around 10,000 t per annum as thesebeneficiaries are highly dispersed throughout the Stateand stay near forest areas. Working of reeds is concen-trated in the Southern and Central districts (fromThiruvananthapuram to Thrissur) and there is no indus-trial extraction from the erstwhile Malabar districts due tolow availability. Though Silent Valley contains a largechunk of reed areas, extraction is not possible due to thearea falling in the National Park. In other regions the reedextraction is limited to house hold purposes and to a verysmall extent by the private enterpreneurs for local market.

From what has been stated above it becomes clear thatthere is a wide gap between the demand and the supply. Itis expected that the supply will be further reduced in fu-ture due to the various factors mentioned later causingdegradatibn of the reed forests. Well planned researchaimed at increasing the productivity and careful scientificworking are the only answers. Artificial regeneration canbe tried to a smaller extent as the land availability for ex-panding this species, demanding very specific ecologicalconditions, is very less.

Utilization of reedsReeds are consumed by the two major sectors viz., thetraditional cottage industry sector which was in existencefor centuries and the modem industrial sector. While theformer is highly labour intensive requiring very less quan-tity of raw material, the latter is just the opposite with veryless employment potential but having large scale raw ma-terial consumption.

Traditional sectorThe State Planning Board identified this sector as “tradi-tional industry” (Govt. of Kerala, 1983) which can aptlybe called “traditional cottage industry” as the manufactur-ing takes place exclusively in the houses of those engagedin it. The traditional sector uses reeds for making a varietyof products. The whole reeds are used for house hold pur-poses like putting up reepers for huts and cattle sheds,fencing, making long brush handles, country fishing rods

20 Ochlandra (Bamboo Read) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in South India


etc. Except in the case of brush handles, the producer isnot financially benefitted as the use is for his own household purposes. The brush made of coconut husk fibre isattached to one end of the reed, which serves as a longhandle, and is sold in the market.

The major purpose for which reeds are used is for man-ufacturing baskets and mats. In olden days these were forself consumption and to some extent meeting the local de-mand. Gradually there was demand for mats at tradingcentres like Bombay. The export of mats from Kerala ismore than a century old (Bourdillon, 1892). There waswar demand for mats and the traditional mat making in-dustry flourished well with the intermediaries getting veryhigh profits due to purchase of mats from the poor weav-ers at a cheap price and around certain centres likeKalady, Angamaly etc., which could draw raw materialeasily from the adjacent reed forests through watertransport.

The following institutions are involved in the traditionalsector:

HouseholdsThe traditional workers manufacture mats and baskets andsell the same in local markets. Such items are used for dif-ferent purposes eg. mats for drying grains and other foodmaterials, for making internal partitions in the houses, foruse as house curtains, for making ceilings for rooms andso on. On a large scale, mats are used as dunnage materialin warehouses (at present gradually being replaced bypolyethylene sheets). Bamboo mats were largely used dur-ing the World War periods for putting up temporary tentsin the war front (Ajit Kumar, 1985)

The demand dwindled after the Second World War andsubsequently there was a slump in the market, After 1958,a large number of sugar factories, especially in Central In-dia used bamboo mats for refining brown sugar into whitesugar (Ajit Kumar, 1985). Mats are also used for makingbamboo plywood.

The baskets made in the traditional sector is of use in thehouse holds for storing grains and jaggery, for collectingfruits, vegetables, betel leaves, as waste paper baskets etc.Apart from the above some handicraft items and diningtable mats etc., are also made but in smaller quantities.

Private enterpreneursWhen there was a high demand for the bamboo mats, forwar purposes and for use in sugar industries the sector at-tracted a lot of people including the forward communities,who started learning the technique from the Sambavas orParayas, the original weavers belonging to ScheduledCastes and Tribes. Even now the other forward communi-ties adhere to mat weaving and consider this as their voca-tion for earning daily bread. In certain localities the poorScheduled Castes and Tribes go to the forest and collectreeds by paying a nominal price to the Forest Departmentand make products. These are directly marketed by them.

Co-operative socleties

The poor reed mat weavers are an unorganised section ofpeople who were reeling under the ruthless exploitation ofthe big merchants who monopolised extraction and supplyof reeds to the weavers and also the purchase of mats fromthe weavers. Thus, there was a time when they were virtu-ally sandwiched between the big reed suppliers on the oneside and the giant mat tradesmen on the other. In reality,the weaver community always remained poor. In order toenhance the income of the weaker section of the matweaving people, the Government constituted co-operativesocieties which channelise the marketing of products. Thereed supply has been undertaken by the Bamboo Corpora-tion for the registered members of the Society. There areabout 60 co-operative societies with 100 members in eachas beneficiaries.

Kerala State Bamboo Curporotion ltd.As per the recommendations of the Bamboo Industry En-quiry Committee constituted by the Govt. of Kerala in1969, the Kerala State Bamboo Corporation came into be-ing on the of 13th of March, 197 1. The main objectivewas to reduce the “long chain of intermediaries betweenthe primary producer and the final consumer’(Travancore-Cochin Govt., 1951) and thus to enhance theincome level of the traditional workers. To start with, theCorporation took up only purchase of mats from the weav-ers and sold the same in different markets. The weaverswere ensured reasonable price to their products.

In the second stage the Corporation entered into the reedextraction field in order to free the traditional workersfrom the exploitative hold of the merchants dealing withthe extraction and supply of reeds. With this, both extrac-tion and supply became the monopoly operation of theCorporation, In the initial stages the Corporation had topay the rate fixed by the Forest Department. In the year1983 the Government waived the payment in order to pro-mote the traditional industry and also to give more bene-fits to the poorer sections of the society. Now theCorporation obtains reeds free from Government forests.It is an anomaly that while the Bamboo Corporation isgetting the reeds free for supply to their registered work-ers, the poor people who directly collect reeds for theirhousehold industries pay a price to the Department, sim-ply because the Corporation cannot reach them and thatthey are isolated.

Use of mats for making bamboo boards is a recent attemptstarted after the establishment of a factory under the Kera-la State Bamboo Corporation. Two bamboo mats arepressed by putting a wooden veneer in between using phe-nolic resin and the bamboo plywood formed is of 3-4 mmthick, very strong, durable and decorative. This is used formaking furniture, doors, room partitioning, light ceilingmaterial and wall panelling. Various eye catching designsare made while weaving the mats which when made intobamboo boards are very attractive.

The Corporation employs about 2,500 reed cutters whowere traditionally attending to this sort of work (KSBC,

Ochlandra (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in Kerala -South India


1991). These cutters are well trained in selecting and ex-tracting only those reed culms suitable for manufacturingproducts. Reeds are supplied to the traditional industry inthe following ways:

a) To the bulk production centres like Angamali,Kalady etc., which are the catchment area of theCorporation for procuring mats, the reeds are sup-plied to the registered weavers without realising anymoney. The products are taken back by paying rea-sonable wages to the weavers.

b) To places, where the Co-operative societies are avail-able, the reeds are supplied by the Corporation to theregistered members of the society through the societyon realisation of actual collection and transportcharges. The finished products are marketed throughthe same societies.

c) To other areas where the above arrangements are notavailable the Corporation gives reeds to the regis-tered weavers on realisation of collection and trans-port charges. The goods are sold by the weavers asthey please.

To start with the allottment to the Kerala State BambooCorporation was 15,000 t per annum (1977-78) which wasincreased to 25,000 t and in 88-89 the quantity was fur-ther increased to 30,000 t against their requirement of36,000 t.

Thus it can be seen that the State has made special ar-rangements like establishment of Co-operative societiesand Kerala State Bamboo Corporation to save the eco-nomically backward mat weaving community by promot-ing this highly labour intensive traditional sector.

Industrial sectorAs an industrial raw material reed was used for manufac-turing pulp in Kerala from 1890 when the Punalur PaperMills was established. The requirement of reeds at thattime was only 750 t per year. The working of the reedareas by the Industry was highly unscientific, withouteven giving due consideration to the rotation period, withthe result the areas were worked successively year afteryear leading to the depletion of stock. The field conditionof the areas allotted to the mills from Thiruvananthapu-ram, Punalur and Thenmala showed that no extractionwas possible for many years as the damage was beyond re-pair. Therefore, reed extraction for this industry wasshifted to other reed areas of Adimali and Pooyamkutty.The capacity of the industry was increased to 33,000 t in1972 and further to 50,000 t per annum in 1975(Mammen Chundamannil, 1990). There was a further in-crease of quantity to the Mills to the tune of 85,000 t in1982 and by this time other Industrial units like GwaliorRayons (in 1962), Kerala State Bamboo Corporation (in1971) and Hindustan Newsprint Ltd (in 1979) startedfunctioning. These industries also required recd. Thougthe allottment was made, the Company could not extracthe quantity due to low availability. The Mill had to be

.The Gwalior Rayons Ltd., a rayon pulp manufacturingunit started in 1962 also took up reed as an additional rawmaterial due to dearth in the availability of bamboo whichhad flowered gregariously during 1960’s. Though not inarge quantities, the industry used reeds from 1976 to1985. By this time the allottment of reeds to this industrywas stopped as they were given alternative raw materialsike eucalypt.The Hindustan Newsprint Ltd., was commissioned in1979. This Industry was allotted reeds to the tune of189,000 t per annum. With the appearance of this Indus-try which happened to be the major consumer of reedsmany of the inaccessible reed areas were opened up tomeet the increasing requirement. The Company entruststhe extraction work to the private contractors employingabout 5,000 cutters who virtually swarm the area and al-most clear fell the clumps and collect all reeds except thereeds which are less than one year old leading to thedepletion of the resource.

Factors causing degradation ofthe reed forestsIn the past, the pressure on reed forests was nominal. Thetribals and other people who depended on forests for theirlivelihood consumed reeds for constructing huts and mak-ing baskets or mats for their own use. The population be-ing low the pressure on forests was also less. Thecollection to meet specific requirements was of a selectivetype. Gradually more and more people started using theproducts made from reed raw material. This resulted inslightly larger scale production of goods to satisfy theneeds of the people. During the World War II a new usewas found out for the mats which were produced in largenumbers. Gradually various other uses for reeds like mak-ing decorative bambooply boards were developed. Withthe result large number of people, not only the traditionalbut also others who learnt the craft, entered the field. Thishas resulted in large scale collection from forests. Nowthere are about 15,000 families engaged in the traditionalindustry. The collection of raw material from the reedbearing areas is restricted more to accessible to settlementareas with the result deterioration of the resource is takingplace and is bound to aggravate. With a view to help thetraditional sector, Kerala State Bamboo Corporation wasestablished by the Government in 1971. The original ideawas to purchase the reed products, especially mats, fromthe individuals and societies and market the same. Gradu-ally in 1977 the Corporation entered the reed collectionfield and started collection engaging large number oftraditional and other reed cutters. The labour force swarmthe reed forest and in the greed to collect more numbers ofreeds in minimum time all the mature reeds are cut fromthe clumps which are nearer the loading points in order toavoid long distance dragging or headload transport. Thusthe system of collection of reeds changed from selectivefelling to clear felling of all mature reeds. This sort of

22 Ochlandra (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in Kerala - South india

closed in 1986 due to labour strike and is disfunctioningat present.


concentrated collection always from the easily approach-able areas depleted, and will further deplete the resources,at a faster speed.

The requirement of the traditional cottage industry sectorbeing very low compared to that of the industries, thedepletion or destruction was not so serious. With the es-tablishment of the paper pulp and rayon mills whichmainly depend upon the reeds as a major component oflong flbre pulp, large scale collection of reeds started fromthe reed forests which are worked under a three year rota-tion. Though large areas are allotted to these industries,collections are invariably restricted to the areas nearest tothe road centres. Moreover, the large number of cutters(even with families) enter into the forests and cut reeds ina very haphazard manner. The labourer gets the wages forthe weight of reeds collected and hence he does not botherto leave out the reeds of more than one year age in orderto get more quantity from one clump. Further the youngeraged reeds give more weight as they contain more water.This sort of clearfelling, totally disregarding the fellingrules, causes more destruction to the resource base.

One more aspect worth mentioning is that there is a bigdifference in the working of reeds by the traditional andthe modem sector. While the former selectively fell andsometimes clearfell all the mature reeds to get properstrength in their products, the latter agency fells or clear-fells all the reeds down to one year old as these wouldyield pulp and at the same time give more weight to thecutter who gets money for collection on weighment basis.Of the two sectors, the traditional sector is less harmfulthan the other. In case the agencies are allotted separateareas for working, the traditional sector will suffer due towant of materials owing to successive over exploitationand subsequent depletion of the reed resource base.

Another important aspect is that there is an overlappingsystem of working of reeds in the same area by both agen-cies. The modus operandi is that the traditional sectorworks the area first as they require reeds of larger-size andis followed by the industrial sector which takes out allreed culms which are capable of yielding pulp. In this sys-tem of working, the two agencies approach the sameclump at different times of the same year causing moredamage.

Adding insult to injury the traditional sector is allowed towork during the growing season which is called as ‘clo-sure period’ and which starts from June i.e., during theonset of south-west monsoon rains to September when thesouth-west monsoon starts receeding. This concession i.e.,working of reeds during closure season is allowed only tothe traditional sector. This is in order to provide continu-ous and round the year employment to the reed cutters andmat and basket weavers. The working of the forests duringthis season is very harmful and the resource starts deplet-ing at a tremendous speed. The reason being that the newculms sprouting during the rainy season are immature,thin and brittle. These culms break at the slightest touchand further growth is arrested. While working the reedsduring the closure period, the cutting operation, dragging

out of the cut reeds from thick and tangled clumps, thefall of the cut culms etc. cause the young new growingclums to break. Due to this the establishment of regenera-tion is hampered and the resource becomes highlydepleted.

Apart from the operational problems mentioned abovethere are also other factors which cause destruction to reedforests. These forests are mostly located in areas along thebanks of streams, rivers, and other water courses and/or inthe moist localities. Such areas are fertile and are pre-ferred by cultivators, encroachers etc. who clear the landfor cultivation purposes. As the cultivation is permanent,the reed forests of such localities are lost for ever. InKerala, where there are large extents of forest areas con-taining reeds and during the War, there was considerablefood shortage and, in order to produce more food grain,the moist and swampy areas inside the forests were leasedout under the ‘Grow More Food Programme ' The culti-vators cleared the areas which constituted mainly reedgrowth. Gradually the adjoining areas which were outsidetheir lease holds and which contained mostly reeds, werealso encroached upon and cultivated. Since the lease holdsand encroachments were regularised periodically the cul-tivation became permanent and the chances of reversal ofreed forests were permanently lost. Had the lease been re-voked after the stipulated period and the encroachmentsevicted, the areas would have reverted to reed growth.

In this connection it is to be mentioned that the shiftingcultivation or ‘Hill cultivation’ as called by Bourdillon,damage to the reeds was only during the duration of thecultivation which was invariably for one or two years. Thecultivation by tribals being not so intensive; soil workingremained only superficial. The rhizomes remained underthe soil and the regeneration was only periodically re-moved. This cultivation did more good than harm to reedsas the reeds grew vigorously in these areas on abandoningthe cultivation and the whole area was covered with reedsin a short span of time. The reeds had conductive condi-tions for luxurient growth as the tree cover over the reedshad been removed by the tribals while clearing the areafor cultivation. Therefore, shifting cultivation in most ofthe areas especially in the southern parts of the statehelped the expansion of the reed forests, but at the ex-pense of the luxurient evergreen and semievergreenforests.

Labour intensive ventures like formation of commercialplantations of rubber, oil palm, cardamom etc., requiredthe clearance of large extent of fertile lands which invari-ably included good reed bearingareas. This process wasirreversible and the reed areas were permanently lost.Construction of hydroelectric and irrigation projects de-stroyed the most productive reed forests which were si-tuated on either sides of water courses and which weresubmerged and died out. Examples of such submergencecan be seen in the reservoir areas of Sabarigiri, Sholayar,Idamalayar projects, etc. In this process very highly pro-ductive areas were permanently lost.


Another highly destructive agency is fire. Fire sweeps theforest during the dry season when the floor is dry. In thethick reed brake where there is practically no tree vegeta-tion or a few scattered trees, the fire damage is very low asthe land is highly moist and there is less combustible drymaterial. But in other forest areas where the reeds grow asundergrowth the forest floor will contain dry leaf litterand branches etc., which burn causing two types of dam-ages. Fire destroys the culms and burns the above groundportion completely, as the reeds are combustible. The ex-cessive heat generated over the soil destroys the tendergrowing ends of the rhizomes. The left over leaves,branches, top ends etc., of the collected reeds dry duringsummer and add much combustible material. In suchlocalities the damage is high. Regular annual fires resultin the production of slender and small reeds affecting thequality of the reed resource.

Periodic flowering of this monocarpic species completelywipes out the reed growth. But the fall of seed brings copi-ous regeneration and sometimes a denser growth. In thisway the death of original reed growth due to floweringhelps to bring out a good reed brake. The dead clumps arehighly inflammable and at the slightest entry of fire, theyoung regeneration is completely lost causing in manycases irreversible change to vegetation. Such areas mayturn to grasslands and become unproductive.

Our observations at Pooyamkutty revealed that after gre-garious flowering during 1985-86, the new growth waswiped out by fire and large gaps were created. These gapswere colonised by grass and are subsequently being takenover by a noxious weed. Growth of this weed, Mikania mi-crantha HB.K. in the reed areas, affects reeds. The climb-er spreads its leaves over the reed growth completelycovering the top thereby preventing the entry of light.This causes poor growth of reeds and culms become thinand unhealthy and the spread of rhizome is hampered.The weed is fast spreading in Vazhachal, Idamalayar andPooyamkutty areas. This is going to affect the yield ofreeds in the near future.

Clandestine collection of reeds by smugglers, for trade;from certain localities, the concentrated working of thereeds by villagers for their bonafide purposes like hutbuilding, cattleshed construction, fencing and so on fromareas adjoining to the villages cause degradation of reedresources. In certain localities the villagers cut and re-move the reeds in order to ward off elephants as the sameare attracted to reeds. This is to protect themselves fromcrop raiding. Much damage is also caused by the destruc-tive mode of collection followed by the interstate smug-glers who almost clear fell the reed clumps. This is acommon sight at Achencoil areas.

Due to scarce food availability and habitat destruction theelephant herds over utilize certain reed areas thereby de-pleting the resource. The possibility of recouping is lost asthe animals regularly visit such areas. Formation of ex-traction roads through the reed forests destroy the reed re-source as the roads criss-cross the major reed growing

centres in order to collect more reeds in a cost effectivemanner.

Closure season is the period during which the area isclosed for reed working as the reeds start growing newculms. This is in short the culm formation season. Thiscorresponds to the main rainy season. The close season inKerala is from June to September. The emerging newculms being highly tender and brittle, they break at theslightest shock. Therefore reed working is prohibited dur-ing this season as the extraction will lead to destruction ofnew culms.

There was no observance of the closed season in the pastwith the result there was a high depletion of reed re-sources. The closure season was partly introduced some-where in 1958. The industrial sector observed this exceptin a few rare and exceptional cases where special sanctionwas issued for extraction during the closed season, Nowthis being followed in the case of extraction by the paperand pulp industries. In the case of Kerala State BambooCorporation there is a relaxation as the reeds go to thecottage industry through out the year. If extraction isstopped, it is stated that the poor traditional cutters andweavers will suffer due to break in work availability.

The non insistance of closure season on human consider-ation has already done/or is doing considerable damage tothe resource, and successive years of extraction in theareas is bound to deplete the stock.

Present predicamentThe demand for reed is very high to the amount of304,000 t per year. The availability is very low belong of50% of the requirement. Resource depletion, due to overexploitation and many other degrade factors, has startedaffecting the yield. The yield will almost remain steady atthe present level for a few more years as large extent ofpreviously unharvested areas are being tapped. Once thisis exhausted, the yield will fall gradually.

Research prioritiesIn order to keep up the yield at least to the present level itis necessary to adopt area specific silvicultural practices.The knowledge of the silvicultural and ecological require-ments of reeds is scarce and detailed investigations arenecessary on following the aspects:

a. Study of ecological and silvicultural requirements ofdifferent reed species especially the species exploitedon a large scale.

b . Perfecting the artificial regeneration technique to suitthe species and the locality.

c . Research to increase the productivity of reeds by ap-plication of fertilizers.

d. Management strategies for augmenting poor reedareas.

2 4 Ochlandra (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in Kerala - South India


e .

f.

h .

i.

j

k .

Perfecting the nursery technique by use ofculm/branch cuttings as seed availability is highly er-ratic as the species being monocarpic.

Developing proper storage technique for seeds so thatseeds can be stored when the reed areas flower andfruit gregariously.

g. Study on the control or even removal of pernicious ex-otic weeds which affect the growth of reeds.Study on how to effectively and scientifically regulatecollection.Study on storage of reeds without affecting the qualityso that such stored reeds can be used during theclosed season thereby giving rest to reed areas duringthe growing season.

Utilization of lops, tops, leaves etc. in the industries.This will add more raw material and will help to re-move the combustible materials from the field.Finding alternative raw material for the pulp indus-tries to provide for long fibre pulp, at least for partialreplacement, if not full.

Till the results of research programmes are available it isbetter to enforce the following safeguards in the extractionof reeds:

a . Adherence of felling rules and felling cycle.b. Removal of combustible dry lops and tops from the

base of the clumps.c . Fire watching during the drought season.d . Stopping working a single area by different Agencies

in the same year.e. Prevention of operation in areas where flowering is

noticed till the seeds are completely shed.f. Removal of dried reeds after seed shedding before the

fire season.

ReferencesAdriel, D. 1966. Working Plan for the Trivandrum ForestDivision. 1964-65 to 1973-74. Kerala Forest Department.Ajit Kumar, M. 1985. The impact of the working of theKerala State Bamboo Corporation in the development ofthe Bamboo Industry in Kerala, Ph.D. Thesis, University ofCochin.

Anonymous, 1988. (mimeo) Administrative report of theForest Dept. for the years 1987-88 Kerala Forest Dept.,Trivandrum, India.Asari, Surendran P.K. 1978. Industry Oriented Manage-ment Plan for Reeds. 1977-78 to 1991-92. Kerala ForestDepartment.Ayyar, T.V.V. 1935. A working plan for the Ghat forests ofPalghat Divison 1933-34 to 1942-43. Government ofMadras.Basha, Chand, S. 1977. Revised Working Plan for PalghatForest Division (Third Revision) 1975-76 to 1984-85, Vol.I, Government of Kerala 282 p.Basha, Chand, S. 1987. Studies on the ecology of ever-green forests of Kerala with special reference to Attappadyand Silent Valley. Ph.D Thesis, Kerala University, 232 p.Bourdillon, T.F. 1892. Report on the forests of Travancore-Govt. press, Trivandrum.Chandrasekharan, C. 1973. Forest Resources of Kerala. Aquantitative assessment, Kerala Forest Department,Trivandrum, India.Govt. of Kerala. 1983. Economic Review 1982. State Plan-ning Board, Trivandrum.lyppu, A.I. 1960 The Silviculture and Management ofEvergreen Forests in Kerala. Proceedings of the All IndiaTropical Moist Evergreen Forest Study tour and Sympo-sium. March-April 1960. Forest Research Institute, DehraDun.KSBC. 1991. Kerala State Bamboo Corporation. PersonalCommunication.Mammen Chundamannil. 1990. Bamboo Current Re-search Proceedings of the International Bamboo Work-shop, Nov. 14-18, 1988, Cochin. India. Published by KFRI,Peechi, India and IDRC, Canada.Muktesh Kumar, M. 1990. Reed Bamboo (Ochlandra) inKerala: Distr ibut ion and Management. In: Bamboo CurrentResearch, KFRI and IDRC, pp. 39-43.Nair, C.T.S. 1986. Bamboo based industry in Kerala State,India. Appropriate Forest Industries, FAO Forestry Paper68, p. 99-109.Nair, C.T.S. and Muraleedharan, P.K. 1983. Rural institu-tions for development of appropriate forestry enterprises:A case study of reed industry in Kerala State, India, KFRIResearch Report 18, KFRI Peechi, India.Pascal, J.P. 1988. Wet Evergreen Forests of the WesternGhats of India, Institute Francais, Pondicherry. 345 p.Travancore-Cochin Government. 1951. Forest wealth ofKerala. Report of the Committee headed by NanukuttanNair.Velupillai, M. 1919. Working Plan Report of the Malayat-toor Working Circle. Travancore Government.

Ochlandra (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in Kerala -South India 2!5


Table 1: Demand and supply of reeds for different agencies (t)

HNL’ KSBC PPM Total

Year Allotment. Collection Allotment Collectiqn Allotment Collection Allotment Collection Percenta GE collectionto al lotment

25,000 14,415 85,000 2,196 299,000 7 1 , 2 8 8 23.8425,000 13,867 214,000 91,207 42.62

15,555 - - 2 1 4 , 0 0 0 76,910 35 .9425,00025,000 7 4 , 6 7 1 34.8917,500 - 214,000

18,055 - 219,00030,000 95,749 43.7290-91 189,000 8 8 , 0 6 1 3 0,000 20,278 - - 219,000 108,339 49 .47

Remark: ‘HNL - Hindustan Newsprint Ltd.‘KSBC - Kerala State Bamboo Corporation‘PPM - Punalur Paper Mills

l MALAPPURAM

‘ I ,

0

Figure 1: Distribution of important spp in Kerala

Figure 2: Distribution of other spp in Kerala

2 6 (Bamboo Reed) a Vanishing Asset of Forests in Kerala South India

85-86

86-87

87-8888-8989-90

189,000

189,000

189,000189,000189,000

54,677

77,340

61,355

57,17188,061


Studies on Bamboo Species Growing in theIndo-Nepal Terai Region and Bihar State of India

Jainendra Kumar and Ashok Kumar

IntroductionBamboo are indispensable articles of commerce in em India. They are used on a vast scale ranging fromhousemaking to manufacture of baskets and granaries.

The present investigation covered the region between 82degree E and 88 degree E longitude and 23 degree N and28 degree N latitude consisting of the northern state of Bi-har of India and the adjacent hilly terai areas of Nepal.

Topography and climateTotal Area

Elevation

: Approx. 209,227 sq. Kms.: Minimum 125’ (in northernplains)

Rainfall

Soil

Maximum 5,000’ (Parts of SouthBihar Plateau)

: 100 200 cm.: Alluvial clay, sand or loam in theplains. in the Plateauregion.

Distribution of bamboo speciesMap I shows the region under survey and the distributionof the main species of bamboo. Species were identified onthe basis of Gamble (1896) and Haines (1925).

Cultivated sand of the

north of the Ganges region of Nepal

1.

Height 60 70’.Length of internode : 1’ 1.5’.Circumference : Diameter : 3 5"

Leaf : 12” 1.2” No rings on the nodes.

Stem sheath without auricle.

the northern plains, the bamboo ripens to yellow and vermillion and dries after 3 years.

Used for a variety of purposes.

2. : Height 80'.Length of internode : 10’ 12”.Circumference : 10” 12”.D i a m e t e r : 3 5"Lumen : 0.5" 0.75".

: 14” rough.White ring above the node, brownish smaller ring belowthe node. Stem sheath without auricle. Arched on the

It is the strongest bamboo used as hard shafts etc.Second most widely cultivated species. Does not survive innorthernmost parts.

: Height -75'.Length of internode : 12” 18”.DiameterLumen : 1.5 3”.Leaf : 1.5”. White rings below the

nodes. Dense clumps. Stem sheathwith fringed auricle. Widely culti-vated in eastern parts.

4. : Well.Height -70'.

Length of internode : 18”.Diameter : 3 4".

Lumen : 1.5” 2.5”.Leaf : 8” 10” 1.5”.Stem sheath 8 12” with fibriate auricles. Highly tose bamboo with scattered culms resembling in northern areas.5. :

Height : 40-60'.

Length of internode : 12” 17”. Longer in thinnerculms.

* P.G. Dept. of India .


Circumference : 5” - 18”.Diameter : 6”.Lumen : 4.2”.Leaf : 17.6” / 3.3”.Velvety brown rings below and above nodes, which can bescratched. Rooting from the upper side of the upper ring.Stem sheath 10” / 8”. A beautiful bamboo, scarcely culti-vated useful for waterpipe and water boring.6. 'Nenua' : Bambusa nana, Roxb.Height : 6 - 10’.Diameter : 0.5” - 1”.A dwarf highly caespitose bamboo cultivated for makingstrong shafts or walking sticks.

7. ‘Bore Baans’ : Bambusa balcoou, Roxb.Height : 60’ - 70’.Length of internode : 10 - 18”.Diameter : 2.5 - 7”.Lumen : 1 - 1.5”.Leaves : 6 - 12” / 2” Round base, stiff

branching on the lower parts. Cul-tivated in eastern parts.

8. Sapta Baans’ : Bambusa -Vulgaris, 5chrad.Height : 40 - 50’.Length of internode : 10 - 18”.Diameter : 2 - 4.5”.Leaf : 6 - 10” / 0.5” - 1.0”.Stem sheath : 6 - 10” with auricles.Nodes unraised with a ring of brown hairs. Green bamboowith yellow stripes or completely yellow. Suited for elasticshafts.

species cultivated in south

1. ‘Pahar : South Bihar forms of this species are more greener or darkgreen and caespitose. Straight, tall and not arched. Hardwithout any lumen.

2.

This species is similar to except for smallerheads of flowers (0.5” 0.8”).

3. : Munro.

Height : 80’ 100’.Length of internode : 12” 18”.Diameter Lumen : 1 1.5”.

Strong tall bamboo. Multiple uses..

4. ‘Basin’ : Munro.

Height : 25’ 30’.Length of internode : 12 18”.Diameter 2” 2.5”.Lumen : 1.2”.Leaf : 6.8” 0.9 1.0”

Stem sheath : Abundant especially on the uppernodes, 6” Auricles present.

5. : Eeight : 80’ 100’.Length of internode : 1 1.5”.Lumen : large, 1 3 nate thorns.Leaf 5 8” Stem sheath : 12 15” 9 12”.Many varieties exist of this bamboo in wild habitats ofsouthern hills in moist valleys.

Munro.Eeight : 30’ 40’.Length of internode : 5” 7.5”.Diameter : 2.0”.Lumen : thin or nil.7. ‘Udal :

Common wild species found in south pla-teau hills and moist valleys

D. sericeus, D. giganteus, B. arundinacea, of and Arundinaria. Wild species of

northern eastern forests and Nepal Terai hills are D.hamiltoni, Thamnocalamus Arundinaria sarensis, Arundinaria Bambusa falconeri, B.

B. and Bambusa vulgaris.

Taxonomy of cultivated speciesGrowth of an individual of a cultivated bamboo canbe expressed by an index.

Growth index (G.I.) length of 10 successive internodesAverage circumference of those internodes

G.I. may be less than one or more than one or one. Thelesser the the higher the average area of the inter-node ( 1 ave.), is constant for a speciesof this area, where r = radius ; 1 = average length of theinternodes.

Cultivation and propagationIn northern India, bamboo are propagated chiefly throughrhizomes and cuttings. Planting is done between the lastweek of February and first week of March or sometimesduring the rainy month of July.

Rhizomatous propagation involves more labour and time.Hence propagation by cuttings is preferred. Stem cuttingsof 1.5 2’ are sown in holes of 8 cubic feet. Irrigation isregularly done till rootings become firm and aerial shootsare formed.

Problems of growth and diseasesDendrocalamus does not grow well in the em parts probably due to its highly xerophytic nature (MC

28 Studies on Bamboo Species Growing in the Terai Region and Bihar State of India

CommonBihar

Bamboo in the Asia Pacific P r o c e e d i n g s 4 t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l B a m b o o W o r k s h o p , 1 9 9 1

Clure, 1966). Hence it is a species confmed mostly tosouthern hills in wild state (Haines, 1925).

D. longispathus, another commonly cultivated bambooshows early yellowing and drying in northern region; it issusceptible to attack by beetle in central and southernParts.

B. tulda, another species shows attack by white ants in thispart of the world.

FloweringFlowering is rarely seen in cultivated bamboo. Sporadicflowering has been reported in different species after along gap of years. Flower buds were collected by the au-thors in Dendrocalamus strictus from southern plateau re-gion during April and November. Haines (1925) (reportedsporadic flowering in this species nearly every year in No-vember from this hilly region.

D. fongispathus has been seen in flowering during May -June. Another common species - Bambusa tulda flowersduring February - March. Flower-buds of Bambusa nu-tans, Wall. were collected during the months of April -May for cytological study.

CytologyIn most of the species of Bambusa and Dendrocalamus, 2nchromosome number has been reported as 72 (Fedrov,1974). Janaki Ammal (1959) reported 2n = 48 in Arundi-naria anceps and Chusquea culeou. 2n = 48 has been alsoreported in Arundinaria atamiana, A. fortunei, A. gi-gantes. A. simontii and A. tessellata (Fedrov, l.c.).

All chromosome number of species in the genus Bambusahave been reported, according to Fedrov (1974).

In the present communications, we report the chromosomenumber of Bambusa nutans, Wall. as n = 12.

Materials and methodsPlower buds were collected during April - May and fixedin 1 : 1 acetic alcohol. Anther squashes were made in 1%acetocarmine. Slides were made permanent in acetic acid -ethyl alcohol series. Photographs were taken of temporaryslides by Ricoh SLR 10 M auto camera.

Observation and discussionPlate I shows flower buds, dividing PMCs at anaphase 1,dyads and pollen grains. Pollen fertility has been found tobe 90%. Table I shows % meiotic irregularities. The fig-ures 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 establish n = 12 in B. nutans, wall. Itshows that this species is at diploid level.

Avdulov (193 1) showed that the basic number is x = 12 inBambuseae along with Oryza and some other genera ofGramineae. Hence the occurence of n = 12 in B. nutans,Wall (Makor) of this area establishes this species as one ofthe most primitive bamboo, which gave rise to higherpolyploid types.

ReferencesAvdulov, N. P. 1931. Karyo - systematische Untersuchungderfamilie Gramineen. Bull. Appl. Bat. Suppl. 44 : 428.Fedrov, A. 1974. Chromosome number of flowering plants.Otto Koeltz. Science Publishers, W. Germany.Gamble, J. S. 1896. The Bambuseae of British India. Re-print, 1965. Ann. Royal Bot. Gard Calcutta. 260 pp.Haines, H. H. 1925. The Botany of Bihar and Orissa. PartV - VI. Reprint, 1978. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh,Dehradun, India.Janaki Ammal,E. K. 1959. A cyto - systematic surveyof Bambuseae /. Bull. Bot. Sure., India. 1 : 78 - 84.MC Clure, F. A, 1966. The bamboo : A fresh perspective.Cambridge Mass. Havard.

Studies on Bamboo Species Growing in the Indo-Nepal Terai Region and Bihar State of India


GANGES

Map I: Bihar

3 0 Stuck on Bamboo Species Growing in the Indo-Nepal Terai Region and Bihar State of India


Figure 1 : Flower buds of

Figure 1.2: Unequal segregation of somes(13 +

Figure 1.3: Al showing 12 chromosomes ateach pole

Figure 1.4: Al showing 12 chromosomes ateach pole

Figure 1.5: Dyad stage

Figure 1.6: Pollen grains

Plate 1: Cytology

Studies on Bamboo Species in the Region and Bihar State of India 3 1


Notes on Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation ofBamboo for Bangladesh

M. K.

IntroductionBamboo are plants of enormous importance to the ruralpeople in several regions of the world. Likewise their use-fulness is great in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh bamboo areused for house construction, scaffolding, ladders, mats,baskets, fencings, toolhandles, pipes, toys, fishing rods,fishing traps, handicrafts, etc., and for other articles ofeveryday use. In some parts of the country the bambooleaves are used as thatching materials and it is a good der. It is also an important raw material for paper indus-tries. Bamboo are planted for hedges and landscaping.Bamboo groves also act as a wind break and prevent soilerosion. The young tender shoots of bamboo are eaten asdelicious vegetables. These young shoots, locally known as

are much eaten by the tribal people of Bangla-desh during the rainy season. Considering the wide rangeof uses including construction materials it is called the“poor man timber”.

Bamboo research in Bangladesh was initiated in early1970s. at the Bangladesh Forest Research Institute

The taxonomic studies of Bangladesh bamboo arevery recent. In the present paper a list of different bamboospecies recorded from Bangladesh has been given withtheir vernacular names. The taxonomic problems of Ban-gladesh bamboo are discussed and notes on their distribu-tion and conservation are given.

Bamboo taxonomy in BangladeshCheck list of speciesThe taxonomic accounts of Bangladesh bamboo are foundin the works of Kurz Gamble (1896) and Bor(1940). The first comprehensive work on bamboo seems to be that of Gamble (1896). Blatter (1929)updated the information of Indian bamboo. But no

work on Bangladesh bamboo has been done to dateTaxonomic research in Bangladesh bamboo is very and has been initiated at the Chittagong. Thoughthere are many problems in bamboo taxonomy, the need

. I

With regard to 0. macrostachya (Syn. Gigantochloa Kurz) as pointed out by C.N. (in

dt. 3 1.10.1927 with the specimens of Rodger 1084, Parker 2268; Rogers 38 and 339 T at Kew under G.wacrostachya) noted that the sheaths of this species as de-scribed by Kurz and figured by Gamble (1896, t.54) aredifferent. Parkinson further noted that he was quite ac-quainted with G. macrostachya growing in the forests ofBurma and the sheaths are not at all like those figured byGamble. He stated that sheaths figured by Gamble in plate36 under Bambusa are of G. macrostachya, alsothat the sheaths described by Kurz as G. macrostachya be-long to another group of bamboo called by the Burmese asTABINDING-WA (that is B. tulda, longispiculata, teresand burmanica). Gamble (1896) recorded its occurrencefrom Chittagong. It is doubtful, whether this speciesoccurs at all! It does not seem to be present.

field guide was felt urgently. Based on the vegetative alone a field guide for 18 bamboo species of

3angladesh was prepared by (1982).

3amboo species occurring in Bangladesh were recorded to 22 in nine genera as reported by Gamble Prain (1906) and Bor (1940).

the number of species are regarded as 27 in 10 1991). Table 1 gives a list of the species from Bangladesh after (1991). The concept

genera and species given in the list mostly follows (1896).

Present status the recorded 27 Gigantochloa macrostachya,

maclellandii and Oxytenanthera albociliata at-e in the present paper as absent from Bangladesh.

macrostachya Kurz was reported to be present in (Gamble 1896). Kurz (1877) described the species

on specimen of 1862 from hills,3urma. Later (1906: 719) on critical ions of his specimens transferred G. macrostachya fromfigantochloa t o Oxytenanthera.


Table List of bamboo species recorded fromBangladesh (after 1991)

names

. Bambusa (Retz.) Willd.

. B. Roxb.

. Willd.

B. Gamble ex.

Wall. ex.Munro

B. Munro

B. Munro

3. B. Ham.ex Munro

B. Roxb.

IO. Schrd.ex.

I 1. Bambusa sp.

Bambusa sp.(unidentified)

Bambusa sp.(unidentified)

4. Bambusa (unidentified)

Munro

bans, bans,

:entua

ua, hilbarua,elibarua, ak, balku, a, bora bans,

bon,

makla,akua

a mitinga

burma

Mitinga

tinga,

bon, bakhal

Baijja, ja, jowajai, Orag

Kanakkaich

Chota-mitinga,tengra

chikoin, koi,

Bethua, moral

Katajali, tha, ra java,keskijawa,

Bhudum

inBangladesh

in Sylhet, Mymensingh,

the country.

in and central

as a hedge in many

in many common in districts and

Mymensingh

of Chittagong Sylhet;

in Sylhet, nensingh,

(type localityn village)

of Sylhet and Tracts. Also culti-

vated in Sylhet and

Forests of gong, Hill districtsand Sylhet

Cultivated through-out Bangladesh;common in centraland eastern districts.Also occurs in hillforests

Cultivated in alldistricts

Cultivated in la, Brahmanbaria Narshingdhi districts

Cultivated iri gonj, Moulvibazar,Sylhet and Gazipurdistricts

Cultivated in menshing, Sylhet,Moulvibazar andChittagong districts

Cultivated in mensingh,

Dinajpur,Rangpur, Khulnadistricts

Cultivated in Bud-dhist temples ofChittagong and Bazar

I 6. D.

Nees et.Arn.exMunro

I 7. D. Kurz

Roxb.

19.

Kurz

21

(Kurz) Benth

2 2. era (Roxb.) Kurz

23. (Cam ble)

24. Oxytenanthera Monro

25.0. Munro

26.

27. sp.(unidentified)

khang,

bans

paiyya,

Kalia

kaliseri

Bajail

Rangoon bans

Distribution in

forests

H i l l an Sylhet

Also cultivatedn and

districts

in many

to occur inng and Cox’s

3azar

to occur inhe forests of Hill

of Cox’s rar, Hill districts and

het

of Sylhet, Hill

xicts and Cox’s rar. Sporadically

in the mixed of garo hills.

cultivated in vicinity of

of Sylhet,Chittagong and Hilldistricts

Reported to occur inSylhet forests

Occurs in the forestsof Sylhet, and Hill districts

Reported to occur inthe forests of gong Hill Tracts andSylhet

Cultivated in bhawaltracts of Cazipur;M mensingh

aluka) andBrahamanbaria

Bor (1940) in Flora cited the locality Sylhet for 0. but no specimen was seen this locality in

at Kew or Dehra Dun

was recorded by one species D. maclellendii from Chittagong (Gamble 1896). Its was based on vegetative characters alone, as a

lofty or bamboo. Gamble’s figure of D. (Gamble 1896, t. 99) is from living specimens of

Botanic Garden, Calcutta. Since Gamble (1896) no information is available about this species. Its

is incomplete. The climbing bamboo occurring the forests of Chittagong and Sylhet is

Benth. So it seems that no species occurs in Bangladesh. Dinochloa is distributed

in Malaysia, Java and the Philippines.

Notes on Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation of Bamboo Bangladesh 33


Occurrence of Teinostachyum griffithii is also doubtful. InBangladesh it has been reported to occur from the forestsof Chittagong and Sylhet. But there is no record of botani-cal specimens of this species in herbaria at Kew or Calcut-ta. In the recent past no clump of this species was alsofound from Bangladesh.

Taxonomic problemsThere are many taxonomic problems in recognizing Bang-ladeshi species. The following are worthy to bementioned:

i) Bambusa tulda - longispiculata - nutans - teres com-plex: All these species were established from their flo-ral characters. It is difficult to differentiate thesespecies on vegetative characters. In the available litera-ture (Gamble 1896), these have been delimited on thecharacters of anther tips such as tip apiculate for B. nu-tans; penicillate for B. teres and obtuse for B . tuldawhich are not always constant. B. longispiculata wasbased on the spikelet length, defined as “pikelet long”for B. longispiculata which have not been quantified.The most common village bamboo of Bangladesh viz.‘talla ‘, ‘mahal ‘, ‘mitinga ‘, and forest bamboo ‘mitinga ’comprise of this complex. Further studies on this com-plex are needed.

ii) ‘Bethua - problem: Gamble (1896) mentioned this lo-cal name from Sylhet under B. polymorpha. Bethua isgrown in village groves. In the year 1984 some bambooclump of ‘bethua’ flowered in Sylhet. On examiningthe flowers, it seems that it is not B. polymorpha. Thespikelet has similarities with B. tulda and allied spe-cies. But it dithers from B. tulda by : pubescent culm,absence of branches up to upper mid culm and culm-sheath characters, . It seems to be some species ofBambusa which is yet to be determined.

iii) ‘Kali’ identification problem: The identity of ‘kali one of the Bangladesh forest bamboo needs to be clari-fied further. It has been generally referred to as Oxyte-nanthera nigrociliata Munro (Gamble 1896, Prain1903). Oxytenanthera is an African genus (Holttum1956, Dransfield 1980, Clayton and Renvoize 1986).Holttum (1956) stated that some Asiatic Oxytenantheraspecies should be merged with Dendrocalamus andsome with Gigantochloa. Kurz (1870) stated that Mun-ro (1868) confounded at least three species under 0.nigrociliata. Only the Javanese specimens cited byMunro represent 0. nigrociliata (Kurz 1870). Widjaja(1987) has treated it as Gigantochloa nigrociliata(Buse) Kurz. She mentioned that none of the speci-mens from India is referable to G. nigrociliata. Kurz(1870) stated that his Bambusa andamanica Kurz wasalso included in 0. nigrociliata. Later Kurz (1877)transferred B. andamanica to Gigantochloa. So, it isclear that 'kali is not 0. nigrociliata. Its floral charac-ters indicate that it is Gigantochloa but the speciesshould be determined.

iv) Variations in Dendrocalamus longispathus: Hasan(1979) reported that clumps raised of seeds of D.

longispathus collected from two different localitiesshowed differences in culm-sheath and branch budmorphology. One clump type showed similarities withD. longispathus; one clump type with 0. nigrociliataand one with N. dullooa. He ranked the differences atvarietal level. These distinct entities need furtherinvestigation.

v) There are also problems in identification of some spe-cies. At least the identity of five species is yet to be de-termined. So from the taxonomic point of view, thebamboo of Bangladesh pose many interesting problemsincluding identification and complex unravelling.

Distribution in BangladeshIn Bangladesh there are two distinct bamboo productionareas; one is the village groves where bamboo is cultivatedby idividuals mostly for domestic consumption; the otheris the forest where the entire stock is natural.

Village bambooAlthough 15-17 species are cultivated in the villagegroves, the more common are B. tulda, B. balcooa, B. vul-garis, B. longispiculata, tengra/tengal, ‘kanakkaich 'ku-rajava and ‘bethua B. tulda, B. balcooa, and B. vulgarisoccur throughout the country. B. balcooa and B. longispi-culata are fairly common in northern districts. B. tuldaand B. vulgaris occur widely in eastern and central dis-tricts. ‘Kanakkaich and ‘bethua’ mostly occur in Sylhetand Comilla. ‘Tengrdtengal’ is seen in cultivation in thedistricts of Moulvibazar, Sylhet and Gazipur. ‘Rangoonbans’ is mostly distributed in Gazipur and Brahmanbariadistricts.

Forest bambooBamboo species growing in the forest areas are Melocan-na baccifera, B. tulda, B. nutans, B. teres, B. polymorpha,D. longispathus, D. hamiltonii, Melocalamus compactiflo-rus, N. dullooa, and 0. nigrociliata. Among the speciesgrowing in the forests, Melocanna baccifera grows inpure brakes but the others grow sporadically in smallpatches. Natural bamboo occur in the eastern hill forestsof Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts and north easternhill forests of Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts andnorth eastern hill forests of Sylhet. The major vegetationtype of these hill forests are moist evergreen and moistsemi evergreen type. Natural bamboo form a component ofthe vegetation of semi-evergreen forests. Except D. hamil-tonii, all the forest species are common in both the easternand north eastern hilly forests. D. hamiltonii is confined toin the eastern side of the eastern Sylhet forest and usuallygrows along streams.

Diversity and conservationThe record of 27 bamboo species in 10 genera distributedfrom villages to forests indicates a high status of biodiv-ersity in Bangladesh. The eastern and north-eastern hillforests of Bangladesh have natural bamboo lie along the

3 4 Notes on Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation of Bamboo for Bangladesh


boarders of the north-eastern Indian States and Burmawhich are rich in bamboo (Biswas, 1988, Mauria andArora, 1988). Bamboo taxa of this region have anIndo-Malayan affinity.

forests. Natural habitats of these species need to beconserved.

The uses of bamboo in every day life are very diversified.With increasing population, bamboo are beingindiscriminately cut both from villages and forests. Itsstock is being depleted and habitats are becomingshrunken and restricted.

There is no systematic study about the genetic diversity ofthe bamboo resources of Bangladesh. No germplasm hasyet been evaluated for its growth characteristics,adaptation range, habitat preference, or resistance to pestsand diseases. However it is evident from observations thatthere variations exist in both village and forest bamboo.Variations are marked generally in culm diameter,internode length, colour striations in culm internode,amount of branchiness, culm wall thickness, lumendiameter, etc. Kochhar et al. (1990) in a recent study fromArunachal Pradesh, India stated that much intraspecificvariation exists in bamboo.

The major limitation of in-situ conservation of bamboo isthat the natural stands of bamboo are scattered in pocketsover large areas. However, in the areas where largenatural bamboo reserves occur, restricted areas should bedetermined, and declared reserves. Ex-situ conservationthrough seeds from different flowering phases, andthrough vegetative methods will be useful in geneticconservation. Centralization of different lines of periodicflowering and out-of-phase flowering will bring allgermplasms together.

Efforts have been taken to centralize bamboo from homeand abroad at Bangladesh Forest Research InstituteBambusetum, Chittagong. So far about 34 differentspecies and lines (including some unidentified) in about10 genera have been centralized from different parts of thecountry and abroad. This is the only live bamboocollection in Bangladesh, it needs to be further enriched.

ConclusionApart from morphological variations bamboo also vary in It is widely understood that the correct botanical name isflowering and reproductive behaviour. Though bamboo an essential reference point. However many taxonomicflowers at long intervals, precoccious flowering is not problems of Bangladesh bamboo are yet unsolved. Theuncommon (Brandis, 1899; Gupta, 1939; Ahmed, 1969; taxonomic problems can be resolved by systematic studiesBanik, 1980). Bamboo are propagated through both seeds both in the field and in the herbarium. Most of the typeand vegetative propagules but vegetative propagation is specimens of this region are preserved at the herbarium ofthe common practice. In Bangladesh Bambusa balcooa Royal Botanic Garden Kew, while the Forest Researchand B. vulgaris do not produce seeds (Banik, 1979; Banik Institute Dehra Dun, India has good living collections.and Alam, 1987) so their germplasm are restricted within Biological problems are not necessarily confined withinapomictic populations. These two species are susceptible the country. So regional and international cooperations areto blight disease (Rahman, 1987; Boa 1987). required to solve the taxonomic problems of bamboo.

The bamboo resources of Bangladesh need to be conservedconsidering : the biodiversity, habitat diversity, geneticvariability, variation in flowering and breeding biology,and multiple uses.

References

The linkage of bamboo with the culture and heritage ofrural Bangladesh has played in important role in itsconservation. At least 15-17 species (Table 1) are beingcultivated in village homesteads. Cultivation in villagehomesteads is a good mode of conservation of species.There is no evaluation of intraspecific germplasms. Thechance of crossing in village bamboo are low; so theirgenetic base seems to be narrow. Ex-situ conservation ofmany germplasm from various parts of the country willbring the wide genetic resources together.

Among the forest bamboo, only Melocunna bacciferagrows in brakes. Other species grow in small forestpockets. Of about 12-14 forest species Dendrocalamushamiltonii occurs in north eastern Sylhet forests.Melocalamus compactiflorus (the only climbing bambooin the country) now has a restricted habitat at presentconfined in few patches in the forests of Cox’s Bazar.Neohouzeaua dullooa seems to the affected by bioticinterference and its population is also decreasing in the

Alam, M.K. 1982. A Guide to Eighteen Species of Bamboofrom Bangladesh. Bull. 2, Plant Taxonomy Series. ForestResearch Institute, Chittagong. 29 pp.Alam, M.K. 1991. In introduction to the bamboo ofBangladesh. BIC - India Bulletin (In press).A h m e d , M . 1969. Flowering of seedlings ofDen drocalamus stricfus. Indian Forester, 95: 214.Banik, R.L. 1980. Propagation of bamboo by clonalmethods and by seed. In Bamboo Research in Asia, (eds.)G. Lessard and A.Chouinard, 139-150 pp. InternationalDevelopment Research Centre, Canada.Banik, R.L. and Alam, M.K. 1987. A note on the floweringof Bambusa balcooa Roxb. Bano Biggyan Patrika,16(1&2).Biswas, S. 1988. Studies on bamboo distribution in north-eastern region of India. India Forester 114(g): 514-531.Blatter, E. 1929. The Indian bamboo - brought upto date.Indian Forester, 55,: 541-559, 586-612.Boa, E.R. 1987. The occurrence of bamboo blight inBangladesh. In Recent Research on Bamboo (eds.) A.N.Rao, G. Dhanarajan and C.B. Sastry, 280-299 pp,International Development Research Centre, Canada.Bor, N.L. 1940. Flora of Assam. Vol. 5, 480 pp (Reprinted1982), A Von Book Company, Delhi.

Notes on Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation of Bamboo for Bangladesh 35


Brandis, D. 1899. Biological notes on Indian bamboo.Indian Forester, 25: l-25.Brandis, D. 1906. Indian Trees. International BookDistributors, Dehra Dun, India, 767 pp.Clayton, W.D. and Renvoize, S.A. 1986. GeneraGraminum - Grasses of the World. 389 pp. Her Majesty’sStationery Office, London.Dransfield, S. 1980. Bamboo taxonomy in indo-MalesianRegion. In: Bamboo Research in Asia (eds.). G.Lessardand A.Chouinard, 121-130 pp. International DevelopmentResearch Centre, Canada.Gamble, J.S. 1896. The Bambuseae of British India.Annals of Royal Botanical Garden, Calcutta, 7: 133 pp.Gupta, M.L.S. 1952. Gregarious flowering ofDendrocalamus strictus. Indian Forester, 65: 583-585.Hasan, S.M. 1979. Observations on culms andculm-sheaths of Ora bamboo raised from seeds. BanoBiggyan Patrika 8( l&2): 13-26.Holttum, R.E. 1956. The classification of bamboo.Phytomorphology, 6: 73-90.Hooker, J.D. 1897. Flora of British India. Vol. 7, 842 pp.L-Reeve and Co. Ltd. Kent.

Kochhar, S.; Mal, B. and Chaudhury, R.G. 1990.Population aspect of the phenological behaviour ofbamboo germplasm. In Bamboo - Current Research,(eds.) I.V. Ramanuja Rao, R.Ganaharan and C.B. Sastry.51-58 pp; Kerala Forest Research Institute, India andInternational Development Research Centre, Canada.Kurz. S. 1870. On some new or imperfectly known IndianPlants. Journal of the Asiatic Society, 2: 61-91.Kurz, S. 1877. Forest Flora of British Burma, 2: 547-471.Mauria, S. and Arora, R.K. 1988. Genetic resources ofbamboo - an Indian perspective. Indian Forester, 114(g):539-548.Munro, W. 1868. A Monograph of the Bambusaceae.Transactions of Linnean Society of London. 26, 1-157 pp.Prain, D. 1903. Bengal Plants, Vol. 2, 663-l 319 pp,Calcutta.Rahman, M.A. 1987. Bamboo blight in the village grovesof Bangladesh. In Recent Research on bamboo. (eds.)A.N. Rao, G. Dhanarajan and C.B. Sastry, 266-271 pp.International Development Research Centre, Canada.Widjaja, E.A. 1987. A revision of Malesian Gigantochloa(Poaceae - Bambusoideae). Reinwardtia, 10: 291-380.



The Bamboo Resource in Sri Lanka

P.A. Swarnamali’ and K. Vivekanandan**

IntroductionBamboo are of enormous importance to the rural people ofSouth and Southeast Asia. In classical forestry they havebeen referred to as ‘minor forest produce’, but in recenttimes the status of bamboo has changed considerably andit is emerging as an important plant group in many forest-ry programmes (Vivekanandan, 1985). Bamboo continueto hold an important place in the rural economy of the de-veloping countries, Sharma 1985. They are renowned fortheir usefulness and are aptly called the ‘poor man’s tim-ber’. The strength of bamboo, their straightness, lightness,relative ease of propagation and quick growth make themvery suitable for a variety of purposes: construction ofhouses, bridges, scaffolding, water pipes, fencing and nu-merous implements. In Sri Lanka, bamboo are largelyused in the handicraft industry and in the housing andconstruction sector and two species, Chlandra stridula andBambusa vulgaris respectively, are the species mainlyused for these purposes (Neela de Zoysa et al, 1988).

A survey has been conducted to study the market demandand supply of bamboo, the quantity of the standing volumeavailable and the quantity of yellow bamboo used for con-struction and other purposes in Sri Lanka during 1989 and1990. In this paper the results of the survey are discussed.This information will be of considerable importance informulating plants for plantation forestry with bamboo.

Demand and supply of bambooThe survey had to take into account that bamboo : collec-tion, cultivation, processing and consumption, involvespeople from different socio-economic groups in society.

Preliminary surveyIn order to study the demand and supply of bamboo a pre-liminary survey was carried out. The information for thepreliminary survey was collected from the entire island.There are 17 Divisions and 386 Beats in Sri Lanka. Thequestionnaire was forwarded to the Beat Forest Officers toobtain information regarding the following:

(a) Cultivation(b) Collection raw materials from state forests and pri-

vate lands(c) Collection and delivery of raw materials(d) Processing raw materials(e) Production of bamboo-made goods(f) Buying and selling bamboo-made goods.The required information was received from 130 Beats.Detailed information was received from about 50 Beats.Information received from the preliminary survey wassummarized (Figure 1). The main Districts involved withbamboo are Galle and Ratnapura.

Of the people who are involved in the bamboo industry,77% are engaged in collecting raw materials (Figure 2).69% collect bamboo from State Forests and the rest fromprivate lands (Table 1).

Final surveyStratified sampling was carried out and the services of Di-visional Forest Officers were obtained to collect informa-tion for the final survey. The sample contained 100people.

Cultivating bambooAll farmers cultivate yellow or green bamboo (Bambusavulgairs). The bamboo culms they produce are sold forconstruction purposes. Farmers sell their bamboo on awholesale basis to the collectors and it is then used forconstruction. The methods of harvesting was wasteful.The production of Bambusa vulgaris is about 50 culms perclump from private lands. The bamboo is harvested every2 or 3 years. The farmers estimate that their net income isRs. 750 (USS 18) per clump. Cultivators have declaredthat 55% of demand cannot be met.

Harvesting bamboo from state forestsThe main species harvested from the forest is Bata, Och-landra stridula. Bamboo are harvested by 79% people and


Bamboo collection, cultivation, processingand consumption

2 5 0

2 0 0

1 5 0

1 0 0

5 0

People groupsDescriptions:1 . Galle 2. Kumara-Eliyn 3. Ratnapura 4. Kandy5 . Kalwtara 6. Kegalle 7. Badulla

Figure 1: Number ofbamboo in

eople engaged in thedustry in each division

Percentage of people

8 0

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

l-

Activity

Descriptions: .Collecting raw materials from state forests and private lands

(77.2%)2.Collecting and supplying (1.5%)3.Buying and selling bamboo (3.6%)4.Cultivating bamboo (6.2%)5.Producing bamboo-made goods (11.5%)Figure 2: Percentage of people engaged in

each activity

are processed and used in the production of bamboo prod.ucts. The remaining 21% people sell their bamboo to pro.cessors, and obtain an income of about Rs. l/- to 1.50(US$ 0.02-0.04) per culm. When bamboo are harvestedfrom crown forests a royalty of 25 cts. (US$ 0.006) perculm of Bata should be paid but the figure could changefrom time to time according to the decision of the Conservator of Forests.

Table 1: Percentage of people involved in thebamboo industry

ActivityCultivatingCollecting raw materials from the forest

Collecting raw materials from private lands

Collecting from gatherers and growers, anddelivering

6.1569.06

8.121.54

Producing bamboo-made goods 11.54Buying and selling bamboo products 3.59

Harvesting bamboo from private landsThe main species involved is yellow bamboo (Bambusavulgaris). However small quantities of Bata (Ochlandrastridula) are also obtained from private lands. The averageprice paid to the cultivators for one culm of yellow bam-boo is about Rs. 15/- (US$0.35). The transport of eachlorry load, of approximately 300-350 culms, costs aboutRs.750/- (US$18) per 30 miles. The market price of yel-low bamboo is Rs.40/- (US$l) per culm.

Processing and producing goodsMost people who are involved in the processing of bamboouse it in the production of goods, such as baskets, flowerpots, cooking utensils and handicrafts. The producers ob-tain a net income of approximately Rs.5,000/- (US$l18)per year. The species used in Bata, Ochlandra stridula. Ofthe people involved in the production of bamboo madegoods 35% said that they are unable to meet the demandfor their products due to lack of raw materials.

Resource availabilityA survey has been conducted to find out the extent of bam-boo available in the entire island. The main bamboo spe-cies occurring in Sri Lanka are Bambusa vulgaris andOchlandra stridula (Table 2).

Bamboo culm productionThe quantities of bamboo culms harvested in Sri Lankaduring 1989 and 1990 are presented in Table 3 and Figure3. The annual production is 27 1,193 culms. The figuresrepresent only the permits issued by the Assistant Govern-ment Agents when bamboo culms are transported by road.In fact, a great number of bamboo culms are cut and usedin rural areas and therefore are not recorded by the Assis-tant Government Agents. Consequently, the actual figuresfor culm production may be two or three times greaterthan those presented in Table 3. The species involved isBambusa vulgaris .

38 Notes on Taxonomy, Distributii and Conservation of Bamboo for Bangladesh

Percentage of people

1.


Table 2: The area (ha) of bamboo species in Sri Lanka

Other Total

Badulla 8 (NA) 8Kurnegala 12 1 1 14Kalutara 62 1,352 1,414Ratnapura 1(NA) 4 5Nuwara Eliya 2 9 4 300 333Matale 2 2Galle 5 576 581Ham bantota 42 42Kegale 75 190 265Total 236 2,123 1 4 300 2,664

Remark: montane types (Bata), NA = not available

Conclusions andrecommendationsA small number of people are engaged either full-time orpart-time in the bamboo industry in Sri Lanka due to thescarcity of the resources in the island. As the bamboo hasto be transported by road for great distances to the majoruse locations, the cost is increased.

The following recommendations are made:1 . Promote the cultivation of useful species eg B. vul-

garis, close to major use locations.

Area (ha)

1 4 0 K

1 2 0 K

l o o k

4 0 K

2 0 K

I I 1

Division of bamboo speciesFigure 3: No. of bamboo culms for which per-

mits were issued during 1989 and1990 in each Division

2 .

3 .4 .

5 .

6 .

Promote cultivation of economically important bam-boo to increase standing volume and meet thedemand.Create man made bamboo plantations.Initiate research to improve the durability,strength, service life and other useful characteristicsof bamboo for construction purposes.Co-operate with rural people to plant more bamboofor use in their households and sell the surplus, ifany, for additional income.Increase the production of bamboo for local con-sumption; a good production and management pro-gramme for bamboo in both natural forests andplantations is required.

Table 3: Survey on permits issued for bambooculm transport during 1989 and 1990

Divlsiim No of

Ampara

Anuradapura

Calle

Monaragala

Badulla

Kalutara

Kurunegala

Kega! le

Ratnapura

Kandy

issued7

832

13

660

471

679

240

241

359

2,908

No of bam-boo culms

issued

1,165

1,030

162,089

2,107

8,879

140,624

127,681

45,142

14,690

38,980

542,387

No of personsssuedtermites

7

784

13

66

211

508

240

238

352

2,419

Royality re-Con ered Rs.

1,165

1,030

24,155

86

16,290

5,880

24,230.4

73,615.4

Notes on Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation of Bamboo for Bangladesh 3 9

Division

Yellowbamboo(B.vulgaris)

Bata(O.stridula)

Giant bamboo(D.giganteus)

Spiny bam-boo(B.bambusa)

Total


AcknowledgementFinancial support from the IDRC is gratefully acknowl-edged. We thank all Field officers in the Forest Depart-ment who assisted with the survey.

ReferencesNeela de Zoysa, Upeksha Hettige, Vivekanandan K., 1988.Some Aspects of Bamboo and its Utilization in Sri

Lanka.: 6-1 1. Bamboo Current Research, Proc. Interna-tional Bamboo Workshop, India.Sharma, Y.M.L., 1985. Inventory and Resource of Bam-boo.: 4-9. Recent Research on Bamboo, Proc. Internation-al Bamboo Workshop, China,Vivekanandan, K., 1985. Bamboo Research in SriLanka.:61-66, Recent Research on Bamboo. Proc. Interna-tional Bamboo Workshop, China.



Moon ex Thw. a Profile

Neela de Zoysa*

Introduction stridula is a green bamboo common in

the wet lowlands in the south west of Sri Lanka. Locallyknown as or li”, it is the only indigenousbamboo which supports traditional cottage industry (deZoysa, Hettige and Vivekanandan, 1990). This paper re-views the state of knowledge of 0. stridula in view of itseconomic importance in the rural sector. Investigations onthe species was begun in 1984 under an supportedresearch project which aimed at assessing the distributionand the availability of bamboo in this country and devel-oping mass-propagation techniques for economically im-portant ones.

Taxonomy0. stridula the type species for the genus is documentedand described in well known 19th century works on theSri flora (Moon, 1835; Thwaites, 1864; 1900). Confined to South India and Sri Lanka, the genushas less than ten species. 0. stridula is the only speciesfound in Sri Lanka and is also endemic to this country. Alater description by Senaratne (1956) added little to theoriginal account. The recent revision of the Bambuseae ofSri Lanka by Soderstrom Ellis (1988) includes a com-prehensive treatment of 0. stridula (Figure 1). Its

status remains unchanged except for the rejectionof a previously recognized variety (var. Thisrevision did not include a description of the fruits, subse-quently described by Rudall & Dransfield (1989).

It is of interest that the var. macufata recognized earlierhas a distinct local name and is not used due

to its brittleness. Furthermore, field observations duringthe period 1986 to 1988, noticed a distinct form of thespecies in the Sinharaja Forest area. Often found at higherelevations, this form of 0. stridula has a more creepinghabit, smaller leaves, flame shaped culm-sheath bladesand tightly clustering groups of small flowers of 2-3 mmlong, reminiscent of the Bambusinae. The described formseems to frequent the lowlands and valleys, has a moreerect habit, triangular sheath blades and loosely ar-ranged flowers on the inflorescence, with individual flow-ers more than 1 cm long and fruits 2 cm long with adistinct keel, This may suggest that there is another genusincluded in the present species.

Ecology and distribution0. grows extensively in the rain forests of the wetlowlands and lower montane areas below 1,500 m, rainfallof 1,500 mm to 5,000 mm and a temperature of 17°C to30°C. The species is found in a small area in the southwestern of the country extending the south of Oya, down to Galle and Matara, eastward to the foothillsof Adams Peak, spread over six zones defined by

and Gunatilleke (1987) (Figure 2). Within the rainforest it grows in a wide variety of habitats ranging fromforest gaps, rocky ridge tops to stream edges. a jor component of secondary successional communities fol-lowing shifting cultivation (de Rosayro, the speciescan occur in dense thickets over large areas.

There is little understanding so far of the ecology of thespecies, considering its relatively wide distribution from afew miles inland of the coast to the central mountains, andthe varying habitats it frequents. The rain forest areas


inhabited by 0. stridula are very fragmented (Figure 3)and although the species is favoured by disturbance it cantolerate changes only to a limited degree.

Uses0. stridula is used mainly for the production of basket-ware; storage boxes for paddy, linen, carrier baskets forfood and other materials, winnowing fans for rice, strain-ers, food covers, baskets for the tea industry and the gemmining industry, and blinds and mats. It is popular amongcommunities living close to forest areas where the bamboois plentiful for : housing; culms for wattle, culm strips forwoven inner partitions and leaves as roof thatch. There isa seasonal demand for culms for making lantern framesduring the festival of ‘Vesak’ in the month of May. Thebamboo flute which is a popular instrument in folk musicis also made of 0. stridula. The major uses mentionedabove are well known but there is no quantitative informa-tion on the extent of these uses. The products have a readylocal market as most of them are traditional utility ware,but fetch very low prices. Hardly any products cater forthe export market except for a few items which may besold to tourists.

It is also evident that patterns of use are undergoing rapidchanges. A major trend being the substitution of basket-ware made of 0. stridula and other natural materials withplastic products and the use of plastic strips for weaving.The latter has the advantages of not displacing the needfor weaving skills, and temporarily reducing the pressureon the natural material. This species is also used as acheaper and more available substitute for rattan for themaking of basketware. Till recently culms of 0. stridulawere popular as support for bean-vines in vegetable grow-ing areas. However, due to the increasing cost of procur-ing them, the bamboo has been displaced by the reedArundo donax.

Socio-economicsA recent survey of the handicrafl sector in Sri Lanka re-cords nearly 700 bamboo craft workers, whose earningsfrom the craft contribute at least one third of the familyincome (IRED, 1988).

The craft is mainly based on 0. stridula except for a smallminority of workers who use Bambusa vulgaris (Commongreen and yellow bamboo) and spread over 8 administra-tive districts in the south west of the country (Figure 4).

The results of the survey further show that as in otherparts of South Asia ie. India, Bangladesh and Nepal thebamboo craft was traditionally practiced by specific socialcastes. This ancient caste system was centered around anagricultural tradition and professions, such as basketrysupplied the non farm consumer goods (Islam, 1987).Many of these castes were of lowly social status and werepoor and landless communities, The largest concentrationof bamboo craft workers ( 3 2 % ) in Sri Lanka found in theDistrict of Gampaha are such caste associated

communities. But at present taking up the craft is less de-cermined by tradition and more influenced by the avail-ability of the raw material, credit facilities and trainingprogrammes etc. In fact there is a rapid movement awayFrom traditional crafts due to the social stigma associatedwith caste.

Basketry has also been traditionally a women’s craft, andlike many such cottage based industries was done part-time, combined with household chores or during seasonsof low agricultural activity. As indicated by Table 1 andFigure 5, the bamboo craft workers in this country includenearly equal proportions of men and women (51%, 49%)and full time and part time workers (48%, 52%).

It is interesting that in the District of Gampaha for in-stance, where traditional communities persist, full timewomen workers comprise 65% of the total number of craftworkers. On the contrary are women rubber tappers fromthe District of Kalutara who weave bamboo boxes in theirspare time for the export of betel leaf under a programmeset up by the Export Development Board (de Zoysa andVivekanandan, 1992). The survey also found that in-creased training facilities in the last few years to promotethe craft among rural youth have resulted in a surplus ofaround 500 bamboo craft workers.

Since the survey was limited to a certain income contribu-tion, the industry is likely to be much more wide spread ifhouseholds where the income contribution of less than athird was considered. Furthermore in a macro survey suchas the one cited, local activity at the village level oftengoes unnoticed. To most women workers, the craft may betheir only or major source of income which would greatlyincrease its significance. The surplus of trained workersindicate that initiatives taken by the utilization sector arenot consistent with the resource shortage and other con-straints such as credit facilities and lack of marketingchannels.

Our present knowledge of the socio economics of the craftsupported by 0. stridula is very scanty despite the fact thatsuch information is central to planning all other aspects ofmanaging the resource and the industry. The need tomaintain existing opportunities for rural employment, es-pecially for women, is more important than ever. But thedwindling craft community and the surplus of trainedworkers are distressing indications that all is not well withthe industry. From a cultural point of view it is of interestto study traditional craft communities before they disap-pear completely. There is also no information available onpersons gathering and supplying raw material and sellingand marketing finished products.

ProductionThe Forest Department of Sri Lanka is the main institu-tion that holds authority to issue permits for the harvestand transport of bamboo. Vested with similar authorityare the Government Agents for the few forests whichcome under their purview. Although records exist there isno computation of annual volumes permitted for harvest.

42


Illegal harvesting over and above the quantity permitted,outside the areas permitted or without permits is common.There are no estimates of quantities illegally harvested ona commercial scale or small scale harvesting by villagersfor daily use. The price of 0. stridula is escalating, mainlybecause it has to be transported from greater distances andis a clear indication that wild stocks of bamboo are dwin-dling. But little is known about how much of this shortageis created by over harvesting as against habitat destructionand due to the lack of organized supplies. Such informa-tion is vital if the bamboo is to be managed in a sustain-able manner.

Harvesting techniques themselves are notoriously waste-ful, where only the young pliable culms are preferred forbasketwork. The rejected mature culms are rarely used forany other purpose.

Recently however more mature culms are being used tomake crude basketware for the tea industry. Processing isvery elementary, culms are scraped clean and split intothin strips, the size depending on the requirement of dif-ferent products. The quality of the split bamboo and itsworking qualities depend on the maturity of the stem, thebrittleness of the culms and the length of inter-nodes. Sofar, no systematic studies have been done on this aspect.

Propagation and plantingAttempts to propagate 0. stridula with off-shoots haveproved unsuccessful, the most effective propagation meth-od has been by seed. The species appears to have an annu-al flowering and fruiting cycle but individual clumps donot flower annually. The fruits mature in small quantitiesand are sensitive to drying. The seeds must be kept moistand sown immediately or potted directly. Germinationtakes three weeks. The seedlings should be well wateredand given a relatively shaded environment. Off-shootsstart appearing within a few weeks and the seedlings areready for planting within 2-3 months. Clumps can growup to 2-3 m high within two years. Knowledge on thephenology of the species is very scanty, accurate informa-tion is needed, and techniques developed for short termstorage of the species if propagation by seed is to be costeffective.

The species is relatively tolerant of nutrient poor soils,and ideal for introducing into small holdings, home gar-dens and diversifying plantations. It can be grown alongfences, boundaries, on eroding stream edges or steep androck slopes. However, no trial plantings have been at-tempted and hence no data is available on growth andyields. Any future planting programme should give prior-ity to areas where the craft is practiced and actively in-volve craft workers.

Management and conservation0. stridula is well suited for managing in the wild be-cause it is still locally abundant in some areas. By con-trolled harvesting and measurement of regrowth,

sustainable levels of harvesting can be worked out easily.No attempt has been made yet to manage wild stands. Onthe contrary, forestry and plantation management practic-es in the past have considered this bamboo a weed and en-couraged its eradication (de Zoysa et al 1990). At presentindiscriminate commercial harvesting by suppliers to craftcenters is common.

A discussion on conserving the species may appear ratherpremature, especially since it is locally abundant and fa-voured by disturbance. However the bamboo will be vul-nerable if present trends of intensive harvesting and therapid reduction of the already fragmented rain forests con-tinues. The advantages of developing management guide-lines while the options are open are obvious, and has beenreiterated in most tropical forest conservation literature(Whitmore, 1991).

Management also requires appropriate policy guidelinesand the necessary legislative mechanisms. One of the ma-jor set backs in the past has been a lack of co-ordinationbetween the resource managers and the utilization sector.There is little information exchange and hardly any col-laborative efforts. Legislation is an important area whichhas received almost no attention. Forestry legislation deal-ing with bamboo or other non-timber forest produce is al-most non-existent. Passing reference is made to these inthe Forest Ordinance which is amended from the Act of1907 and is grossly outdated. More recent legislation suchas that formulated under the craft sector ie. Craft CouncilAct of 1982 makes no reference to the conservation,propagation and the cultivation of the plant resource.

ConclusionInformation collated on 0. stridula in the last few yearshas considerably increased our understanding of the plantresource and the industry it supports. Nonetheless, thereare major gaps, and an urgent need for more precise quan-titative data. Some priorities for future research and devel-opment are listed below:1 . Information on socio-economic of the industry2 . Extent of each use3 . Estimates of permitted and illegal production4 . Trial plantings and yield data5 . Methods for short term seed storage6 . Experimental management of natural stands7 . Formulation of legislation8 . Community involved cultivation programmes9 . Taxonomic clarificationsSeveral major issues relevant for wider consideration hasalso emerged from the case of 0. stridula. Firstly, the pur-pose of investigation of plant resource such as 0. stridula,is that it currently support an industry. Hence the real val-ue of information gathered can only be assessed by its im-pact on the industry ie. increased employment, a stableand increasing income and the security of a steady supplyof raw material etc. What is evident from the informationavailable and on going research is its apparent lack of so-cial focus. Unless the socio-economics form the basis for

Ochlandra stidula Moon ex Thw. - a Profile 4 3

l


the studies on the plant resource, results will not be of realapplication value.

The information available so far, is of a general nature.This draws attention to the need for well structured andtarget oriented research that will produce accurate quanti-tative data both in the short term as well as longer term.The urgency is great because the industry is dependent onmanagement and policy decisions taken an available in-formation and perceptions. Much of the delay of informa-tion collection has been due to the lack of collaborationbetween the resource managers and the utilizationagencies.

Lastly, there is a critical need for evaluation of researchthrough the network, through a collaborative effort by sci-entists in the region. This will guide country projects andscientists to bring out good results with comparable in-formation and also be time effective.

AcknowledgementsI wish to thank Dr. K. Vivekanandan and Upeksha Het-tige, of the Sri Lankan Bamboo/Rattan Research Projectfor their help, Dr. Soejatmi Dransfield for useful discus-sions and Dr. Cherla Sastry for facilitating my continuedinvolvement with bamboo research.

ReferencesAshton, P.S. and Gunatilleke, C.V.S., 1987. New light onthe plant geography of Ceylon, I- Historical plant geogra-phy. Journal of Biogeography, 14: 249-285.de Rosayro, R.A., 1961. Nature and origin of secondaryvegetation communities in Ceylon. Ceylon Forester, 5:23.

District

Campaha

Kalutara

Ratnapura

Galle

Matara

Kandy

KegalIe

KurunegalaTotal

No, ofWorkers,

220

40

90

15

120

60

20

120

685

No. of families

100

10

10

100

30

250

FulM e n

33

10

20

2

5

40

100

Table 1: Employment details of the Ochlandra striduia based craft industry in Sri Lanka

de Zoysa, N.D., and Vivekanandan, K., 1992. The bambooand rattan cottage industry in Sri Lanka - livelihoods indanger. Forest Department, Colombo, Sri Lanka.de Zoysa, N.D., Hettige, U.N. and Vivekanandan, K.,1990. Some aspects of bamboo and its utilization in SriLanka. In: Bamboo -current research, Eds. I.V. RamanujaRao, R. Gnanaharan andC.B. Sastry. Kerala Forest Research Institute and IDRC,Ottawa, pp 6-l 1.Hooker, J.D. In: Trimen, H., 1900. A handbook to the floraof Ceylon, 5:318-319.IRED, 1988. Master plan for handicraft development in SriLanka, Vol. I-5, Development innovations Network(IRED), South-Asia regional Office Colombo and Ministryof Rural Industrial Development, Colombo, Sri Lanka.Islam, R., 1987. Ed.Rural industrialization and employ-ment in Asia. ILO, Geneva and ARTEP, New Delhi.Moon, A., 1835. Catalogue of the indigenous and exoticplants growing in Ceylon, Colombo.Rudall, P. and Dransfield, S., 1989. Fruit structure and de-velopment in Dinochloa and Ochlandra (Graminae - Bam-busoideae). Annalas of Botany. 63:29-38.Senaratne, S.D.J.E., 1956. The grasses of Ceylon. CeylonGovernment press, Colombo.Soderstrom, T.R. and Ellis, R.P., 1988. The woody bam-boo (Poacea: Bambuseae) of Sri Lanka: A morphological-anatomical study.Smithsonian contributions to botany,72:66-73.Thwaites, G. K.H., 1864. Enumeratio plantarum Zeylaniae:an enumeration of Ceylon plants, with descriptions of newand little known genera. 5:376.Whitmore, T.C., 1991. Tropical rain forest dynamics andits implications for management. In: Rain forest regenera-tion and management Eds. A.Gomez-Pompa, T.C. Whit-more and M.Hadley, Man and the Biosphere series,Unesco, Paris and Parthenon Publishing Group, Carnforth6:67-86.

rime PalWomen Men

143 4

30 30

20 30

3 6

-

35

15

10

230

5

60

255

time

W o m e n40

30

4

120

15

10

104

Source - adapted from Master plan for Handicraft development in Sri Lanka IRED (1988).

. Income

main source

substantial

poor

insignificant

reasonable

supplementary

inadequate

fair

44 Ochlandra stridula Moon ex Thw. - a Profile


Species description adapted from Soderstrom & Ellis (1989) and Rudall and Dransfield (I 989)Short, slender culmed, shrubby, dark green bamboo, sometimes creeping. Culms reach a height of 4-6 m, are erect below and archedabove with tips bending over. Clumps dense with several culms crowded closely together. Rhizomes sympodial, pachymorph with a shortneck. Culms are soft, hollow, erect at first and then arching. Young culms light brown-maroon, sparsely covered with hairs, with a whitishappearance. Mature culrns green, with a rough and gritty surface. Culm diameter 0.6-2cm. Culm walls thin, nodes not prominent but with acircular band of whitish bloom. Culrns have up to 16 nodes with internodal lengths of 40 cm at mid-culm. Branching mid-culm upwards.Young shoots greenish - purple. Apical part completely purple. Culmsheath greenish brown when young, leaf-like below, becoming orange-brown to maroon at summit, 7 - 20 cm long 3-10 cm wide. Blade strongly reflexed, linear-lanceolate, 7.5-9 cm long, 1 cm wide, with later-al expansions - 2.5 mm either side about 1/3 below attenuate apex, upper surface green, glabrous except for whitish short, hirsute, baseand summit, lower surface maroon, glabrous sheath with auricles, barbed oral setae, 7.5 mm long small and bristly. Culm sheaths stay semi-detached, scrolled up, while blades fall of easily. leaf twigs 55-80 cm long, bearing 8-14 leaves, blades lanceolate tapering to an acuminateapex, 24 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide, glabrous, leaf blades maroon at the base with a thick petiole to 4 mm long auricles with oral setae. In-florescence consist of pseudospikelets and can have all branches on a main culm in flower or occasional single leafy branches flowering.Spikelets ovate, - 3 cm long 5 mm wide with three transitional glumes, 1 lemma, 1 palea, 7 lodicules, 27 stamens, and 1 pistil. Stamens yel-low (brown with green tip when mature), filaments filiform, free, basifixed and anthers opening by an apical pore; ovary glabrous. The ma-ture fruit is ovoid, extending upwards into a long beak which represents a persistent style. The pericarp is hard and thick. The embryo has abasal plumule and radicle, and a large scutellum that occupies the lower portion of the central ovarial cavity, the upper part occupied by

Figure 1: Ochlandra stirdula: a, leafy branch (x 0.5); b, culm-sheath in place (x 0.5); c, branch-ing node (x 0.5); d, flowerinseedling (x I), adapted from

g branches (x 0.5); e, ‘mature fruit (x I); f, very youngoderstrome and Ellis (1988)

Ochlandra stridula Moon ex Thw. -a Profile 45


I Northern lowlands2 South

Southern

4 Foothills

Figure 2: Ochlandra st r idula: natural distribution in Sri Lanka (Floristic zones from Ashton andCunatilleke, 1989)

Figure 3:The fragmented rain forests in the south west of Sri Lanka inhabited by Ochlandra stridula.

4 6 Ochlandra stridula Moon ex Thw. - a Profile


craft

Figure 4: The distribution of Ochlandra stridu/a based craft industry in the administrative districtsof Sri Lanka (adapted from the Master plan for handicraft development, IRED,1988)

Female

Figure 5: The proportions of men, women, part-time and full-time workers in the Ochlandrastridu/a based craft industry in Sri Lanka

4 7


The Need for Conservation of Arundinaria alpina K. Schumin Kenya and its Ecological Significance

Sigu, Gordon Onduru”

The indigenous bamboo species in Kenya is Arundinuriaalpina K. Schum. This bamboo is a large woody rhizoma-tous grass which thrives very well between 2,200 to 3,350metres above sea level. The species ecological range ismainly the Aberdares and Mau ranges and mountains Ke-nya, Elgon and Timboroa (Kaptagat) plateau. Smallerpatches are found in Taita and Shimba Hills. The limitedecological zone is a concern because haphazard exploita-tion of bamboo can easily result in depletion of thisimportant plant community. These zones used to supportextensive bamboo crops until 1950’s when most of theseplantations were replaced with fast growing exotic soft-wood trees. Currently, the bamboo is an important andcrucial forest type for water catchment ard soil conserva-tion in Kenya and occupies approximately 155,821 ha.

The bamboo culm itself has provided for many uses in thepast and is still of potential use in the building and handi-craft activities especially in tea zone farming. With theseimportant roles, there is need to have good primary eco-logical information on the best exploitation and manage-ment strategies likely to be of more benefit than when thebamboo crop is left unexploited. The remaining patches ofbamboo warrant more of conservation than exploitation.

The situation and statusBetween 1932 and 1943, investigations were carried outin the Aberdares and the surrounding bamboo stands.This was done to find out satisfactory methods for fellingbamboo culms and subsequent regeneration after felling.The investigations were advantageously carried out beforemuch damage on the alpine bamboo ecosystem was in-flicted. The stand densities are currently varied in struc-ture and much disturbance have left the stands open,scattered and in patchy conditions (Kigomo, 1988).

Excessive exploitation in the past coupled with massflowering and death, followed by destruction from wildlifeand serious failure of regeneration have all but decimatedthe resource. Therefore urgent conservation action is ne-eded not only for restoration of habitat of bamboo in thehighlands of Kenya, but also for identification of in situconservation reserves. A possible restoration measure is tocarry out the extensive planting of the species, with the

active participation of the local population, who wouldeventually have stake in the development and utilizationof the bamboo resources.

The area under bamboo forest is estimated to be 155,821ha. This area could even be less due to recent excision ofthe forests for the Nyayo Tea Zone and continual extrac-tion for Department use. Currently there is a ban on thecutting of bamboo in the whole country owing to the con-siderable decline in the bamboo resource and as a resultthe demand has been enormous.

Background information on the exact area, extent andcurrent status of this bamboo is limited. This makes theirprotection and management ultimately difficult.

The first bamboo research project in Kenya was initiatedin July 1987 with funds from IDRC. The objective of theproject was to select suitable regional and Asian bamboospecies for several ecological areas of Kenya and to devel-op techniques for their mass propagation, establishment inthe field and management protocols under local condi-tions. The Phase II of this project has focused on masspropagation study of planting stock of Arundinaria alpina.

Current management of Arundi-naria alpina in KenyaThe life of a bamboo culm of A. alpine is 10 to 15 years.The number of culms per unit area over this period oftime remains constant (Kigomo, 1988). It has been gener-ally observed that once a bamboo clump flowered and


produced seed it came to an end of its life and die afterseeding. Although Wimbush (1947) suggested that theend of the life cycle of A. alpina may not always result inthe complete death of the plant and a last minute vegeta-

tive vigour may occur.

Flowering, seeding and dying back in alpine bamboo oc-curs gregariously in Kenya. Flowering of A. alpina occursin patches of a half to five or more hectares (Kigomo,1988). Sometimes this extends to cover tens of hectares ofbamboo forest at a time, but no case of any more extensivegregarious flowering has been recorded. There is evidencethat the life cycle of the alpine bamboo is more than 40years in the Aberdare range in Kenya (Wimbush, 1945). Itis not however clear whether it is much longer or shorterin other places where the species occurs.

It has been found with A. alpina that on average,3600-4000 new culms per hectare are produced everythree years. A fully stocked stand of bamboo is normallyon the average about 1200 culms per hectare. Full sizedculms would take eight to nine years. Six to nine yearsmust therefore be added to the recovery period at propercutting cycle for this bamboo species. This also impliesthat cutting cycle will not be less than 8 plus 6 (14) yearsand may be as long as 21 years on poor sites where recov-ery to normal full size is delayed (Wimbush, 1945).

An undisturbed crop of this species carries about 10,000to 17,000 stems per hectare and can produce about 100tons of air dry weight of culms. Culm production is in-fluenced by the amount of rainfall occurring during theprevious one or two years and drought may result insparse production of culms (Kigomo, 1988).

These short term investigations were attempted with theobjective or acquiring useful information on the manage-ment of natural stands of bamboo crops, and should be re-viewed and incorporated in the conservation strategies forthis species.

Utilization of Arundinaria alpinaUses of indigenous bamboo have mainly been confined tolocal needs. Main uses are fencing of homesteads andfarms. Split and whole culms are widely used in the con-struction of residential houses, huts and farm granaries.Split culms of bamboo are used in the production ofhandicrafts articles such as mats and various utility bas-kets. Recently, there has been increased use of bamboo inmaking tooth picks. Bamboo are versatile in their usesand the need to cultivate the crop has been realised andcannot be over-emphasized. The greatest handicap to thediversified utilization of the local bamboo resource in Ke-nya, as opposed to cases commonly observed in tropicalAsia, is the lack of motivated traditional skills. This canhowever be solved by training through exchange programsand incorporating the skills in groups handling similar ac-tivities eg. women groups in basketry.

Management of bamboo for soiland water conservationThe emphasis on bamboo resource conservation is vital, asboth soils and water are the basic resources on which agri-culture depends, not withstanding that Kenya is an agri-cultural country whose economy is agriculturally based.The high population has pressurised the exploitation ofour land, water and forest resources, causing inappropri-ate cultivation of steep slopes, river banks and encroach-ment of forests and water catchment areas.

Vast areas of Kenyan highland mountain catchment areaswere cleared in 1940’s and 1950’s and replaced with exot-ic softwoods. Pereira (1962) investigated the role of bam-boo and exotic softwood crops in the conservation ofwatersheds. He found that, although on the overall his re-sults indicated the consumption of water and interceptionof rainfall of bamboo and softwood crops are about thesame, the overall efficiency of the two vegetations on theconservation and provision of quality water on a long termbasis should be a more important criteria. It is importantthat the soil mantle of catchment areas and water qualityshould be maintained during the life time of mankind. Itseems this may not be the case particularly during forestryoperations in industrial plantations.

Bamboo is very suitable in stabilising top soil and thuspreventing soil erosion. Arundinaria alpina can be suit-able for fragile ecosystems such as canal banks, steep ter-rain and riverine areas. The increasing need in the use ofbamboo in the reafforestation programme of catchmentand soil erosion prone areas has called for better under-standing of bamboo management, particularly in soil andwater conservation. Bamboo has fast and intensive rhi-zome development and can be used for soil stabilisation.Preliminary studies have shown that this local species canbe cultivated within its natural range and even below itsnatural altitudinal distribution, although its rate of growthis slightly depressed in the latter sites. Successful cultiva-tion of Arundinaria alpina in lower altitudes should helpin the conservation of degraded areas. No serious cultiva-tion of bamboo has been undertaken in Kenya in the past.There is need to cultivate bamboo so as to diversify thesupply base of our natural resources. The on-going de-struction of forest areas especially in the sub-tropical beltsin many countries accompanied by an acute shortage oftimber has led to an increasing awareness of the multina-tional services which bamboo can provide. The effort toconserve the bamboo would benefit from a greater aware-ness in both environmental organizations and among thegeneral public of the importance of bamboo.

With the availability of resource, an up-to-date inventoryof the bamboo in Kenya should be made. The status of theentire bamboo ecosystem should be highlighted in this in-ventory report. After this, national bamboo managementcan be framed on a larger scale.

These observations help to point out the ecological signifi-cance of natural bamboo resource (in situ) in the


conservation of soil, water and protection of watershedareas of Kenya.

Management and conservationstrategiesThere is urgent need to review the studies carried on earli-er, that is stand carrying capacity, flowering, influence ofrecovery on cutting cycle, influence of cutting intensity onrecovery and possibly the role of bamboo on soil and waterconservation. This information is very necessary for form-ing a basis for the conservation and management of bam-boo in Kenya. However, these earlier researches are to beviewed aIongside other recommendations that there mightbe from other researchers working on bamboo. This willcreate room for future integration among people of similarinterest in this field to produce a multidisciplinary man-agement strategy for all the bamboo forests in Kenya.Considerable furthur study should be geared towards:

(i) The development of appropriate propagation, nurseryand transplanting techniques, both in vivo and in vi-tro methods should be included.

(ii) The development of sound management systems forthe maintenance of natural stands and plantation cul-tivation of Arundinaria aipina.

(iii)The understanding of morphology, anatomy andphysical, mechanical and chemical properties of thisspecies following various silvicultural treatments.

(iv) The socio-economics and environmental aspects ofbamboo forestry in Kenya.

(v) The introduction of exotic bamboo species preferablythose that are more versatile in their uses, with adop-tion especially in the lower drier zones. As in the pro-duction of natural tree forestry, this should helpreduce pressure on this plant community.

ConclusionThere is need to piotect and manage properly the remain-ing bamboo resources for the future. A time has come totake this matter seriously and devise ways and means,some of which have been discussed, for the managementof bamboo areas so that they are again brought back toproductivity. If managed for sustained yield, the bambooforest can be a reliable source of goods and services. It hasbeen proven that if exploitation can be controlled andcombined with the natural and artificial regeneration, aproductive bamboo forest can be restored.

ReferencesKigomo, B.N. 1988. Distribution, cultivation and researchstatus of bamboo in East Africa. KEFRI, Ecol. MonographI.Pereira, H.C. 1962. The water balance of bamboo thicketand of newly planted pines. E. Afr. Agr. For. J. 27,95-103.Wimbush, S.H. 1945. The African alpine bamboo. Emp.For. J., Vol. 24(l), 23-39.Wimbush, S.H. 1947. The African alpine bamboo. E. Afr.For. J. 13, 56-60.

50 The Need for Conservation of Arundinaria alpina K. Schum in Kenya and its Ecological Signifficance


Remote Sensing Application in Bamboo ResourceEvaluation: a Case Study in Kerala

A. R. R. Menon*

The baseline information of natural resource is highly es-sential for resource management. The gathering of basicinformation from the tropical forests is not an easy task.On account of the synoptic coverage and quickness, re-motely sensed data are being used now for this purpose.Remote sensing is of high importance in resource man-agement of tropics, because of its ability to supply anenormous quantity of information in the shortest possibletime. Its application and advancement depends on the ap-proach of individual country for development and properuse of available information. The mapping of land coverand land use pattern using remote sensing techniques of-ten provides information of practical value in environ-mental planning and land development. Stratification ofvegetation cover with respect to structural features is high-ly necessary for resource evaluation. The estimation of ac-tual area of different cover types and that of differentstrata in each vegetation cover is the most crucial part inresource evaluation. In the present study an attempt ismade to evaluate the potentiality of remote sensing data inthe estimation of bamboo resources and land cover map-ping of natural forests of tropical belt. The remote sensingdata in the form of large scale aerial photographs are usedon experimental basis to stratify the bamboo area in thenatural forests of Western Ghats region, aiming the iden-tification and stratification of bamboo area with respect todensity and height classes. The area of different stratathus delineated can be utilized for stock mapping alongwith the supplementary phytosociological data obtainedfrom various strata.

Study AreaThe study was conducted in Attappady region, adjacent toSilent Valley natural reserves. The area (11’05’ toll”08’N. Lat. and 76’31’ to 76’32’ E. Long.) lies in theWestern Ghats region of tropical belt, in Palakkad districtof Kerala (India). The terrain is rugged and hilly. Theelevation of the area ranges from 250 m to 1,700 m aboveMSL. The plains on the eastern part of the area are dryand warm almost throughout the year whereas the hills ofwestern side are wet, warm and humid.

VegetationThe vegetation exhibits considerable variation in floristiccomposition and structure. In fact the floristic diversity isone of the criteria of study site selection, so as to accounfthe maximum variability in data interpretation. The majorforest types recognized in the area (Champion and Seth,1968) are viz. west coast tropical evergreen forests, westcoast semievergreen .forests, southern moist mixed de-ciduous forests, South Indian moist deciduous forests andsouthern tropical dry deciduous forests.

Data usedThe remote sensing data used for the present study are ofthe following two major types:

A) Satellite imagery:(i) LANDSAT 5 TM FCC of band 2,3 and 4 having

scales of 1:1,45,000 and 1:2,50,000 of March1985;

(ii) SPOT FCC of band 1, 2 and 3 of MjultispectralMode (X3) having enlargement up to scale of1:2,50,000.

B) Aerial photographs (black and white) of the followingspecifications; Scale: 1: 15,000; Camera: RMK 15/23;Focal Length: 15.3 cm; Date of photograph: March/A-pril 1986; Format size: 23 x 23 cm; Nature of print:Glossy and single weight; Overlap: Forward - 60 to80%, Lateral - 10 to 40%; Direction of flight: South toNorth; Film: Kodak XX Aerographic panchromaticblack and white; Filter: D127956.

The visual interpretations of remote sensing data weredone by standard remote sensing techniques. The photo

Methods

stratification scheme was adopted using photo elementslike Tone, Texture, Colour etc. In structural classificationscheme, three height classes viz. <15 m, 15 to 25 m and>25 m were identified in aerial photographs and crowndensity was subdivided into five tentative classes as densi-ty class A, B, C, D and E; with percentage density of 5 to20, 2 1 to 40, 41 to 60, 61 to 80 and >80. Since the


bamboo were located in moist deciduous forests in thearea, it was subdivided to three major types (Figure 1) as(i) those without bamboo (MD), (ii) those with less than50% bamboo coverage (MB) and (iii) those with morethan 50% bamboo coverage (BM). Based on the visual ob-servations of homogeneity and diversity, different standsof major vegetation types were selected for quantificationprocedure. Base map of the area was prepared in 1:25,000scale from Survey of India Toposheets and visually inter-preted data was carefully transferred to it for field check-ing. The prefield maps were further cross-checked in thefield (spot checking) for accuracy evaluation and fair mapprepared (Figure 1). The estimation of bamboo area wasdone by dot grid method using 0.2 mm dot grid.

Results and discussionThe area of -different cover classes as per aerial photomaps and satellite imageries were worked out and the ac-curacy was evaluated. The overall accuracy level in thecase of mapping by large scale black and white aerial pho-tographs was found to be of 90% and that of satelliteimageries are of 70%. The area estimates along with thesampled information by list count quadrat method(Oosting, 1958) from various bamboo strata will sub-stantiate the resource stock information at a given time.The study also reveals that one can use the large scale ae-rial photographs conveniently for stock mapping of bam-boo in tropical regions. Since there is clear tonal variationin aerial photographs, the areas with and without bamboocan be delineated with less effort. Similarly bamboo densi-ty variation is reflected in textural element of image inter-pretation (Table 1). Further the textural variation is moreclear in large scale aerial photographs (Tomar and Mas-leker, 1972) and this feature was used in identification ofbamboo density level in the present study. With regard toother land cover classes, marked differences in tone, tex-ture and patterns were observed. It was possible to identifyeven minor variations within a cover class, thus threetypes of moist deciduous forests; three height classes andfive density classes in each cover types were identified.Such type of information play crucial role in resourceevaluation and stock estimation. The aerial photographs

with their 3D effects will give better resolution for photo-stratification of types. The height, density and speciescomposition characters to the cover class are much moreclear in aerial photographs than that of satellite imageries.

A comparison was also made in the identification of the-matic classes from satellite data and aerial .photographs.

Table 2 A cursory reference of this comparison will revealthe importance of aerial photographs in bamboo resourceevaluation. In visual interpretation techniques of satellitedata, the colour and tone are the two important elementsused to characterise the vegetation classes in FCC. Otherphoto elements such as texture, association etc are alsoused wherever necessary. Broad categories of forest typesalone can be differentiated in satellite data. Hence for gen-eral reconnaissance study this data can be used, but for de-tailed mapping and stock evaluation it is of limited use.

Above all, the use of remote sensing data of the correctseason is more vital in visual interpretation techniques.The tonal and textural variations of bamboo during flow-ering season is yet another tool for proper identification ofbamboo areas. The observations made on the ground ster-eograms of the bamboo area reveal that the bamboopatches are more or less stellate in appearance. This stel-late nature can be clearly observed in large scale aerialphotographs. Thus large scale aerial photographs are idealfor bamboo resource evaluation.

ReferencesChampion, H.G. and Seth, S.K. 1968. A revised survey offorest types of India. Manager of Publications, New Delhi.400 p.Oosting, H.J. 1956. The study of plant communities. W.H.Freeman, San Francisco.Singh, Ashbindu, 1987. Spectral separability of tropicalforest cover class. Int. J. Remote Sensing 8 : 971-979.Singh, Ashbindu, 1988. A forest cover classification sys-tem using remotely sensed data. Indian For. 114 :128-l 35.Tomar, M.S. and Masleker, A.R. 1972. Aerial photographsfor landuse and forest survey. Survey of India.

52 Remote Sensing Application in Bamboo Resource Evaluation: a Case Study in Kerala

Bamboo in the Asia Pacific Proceeding 4th International Bamboo Workshop, 1991

Table 1: Image interpretation key for interpretation of large scale (1:15,000) panchromatic (B &W) aerial photographs

4

567

8

9

10

11

12

Tane Texture Pattern/Remarks Evergreen forests (EF) Black Fine SmoothMoist deciduous forests (MD) Greyish Medium MediumMoist deciduous forests with less Grey with Mediumthan 50% bamboo coverage (MB)

Roughwhite

Moist deciduous forests with more Coarsethan 50% bamboo cover (BM)

Crey with Roughwhite

Dry deciduous forests (DD) Black Coarse RoughScrubs (SC) Grey Coarse RoughPlantations:- rubber (PR) Black Fine Smooth- teak (PT) Light grey Medium

- eucalyptus (PE) Greyish Medium- coconut (PC) Dark grey MediumAgriculture (A) Whitish grey -

Forest blanks (B) Light grey -

Exposed rock (X) Light grey -

Habitation (H) White -

Water bodies (W) Dark black -

Arrangement is seen in youngplantationsMediumArrangement is seen (Stellate)Shape, size, location, association etc. areconsideredShape, size, location, association etc. areconsideredShape, size, location, association etc. areconsideredShape, size, location, association etc. areconsideredShape, size, location, association etc. areconsidered

Table 2: Comparison of major thematic classes on satellite data and aerial photographs

Aerial Photograph(B & W) Remarks

3

4

5

6

7

89

10

EvergreenMoist deciduousfores ts

Scrubs

Dry deciduousfores ts

Plantations

Agriculture

Habitation

Often mixed with fal- Identifiedlow landNot identified Identified

Water bodies Identified IdentifiedExposed rocks Identified Identified

2 density classes(< 20% greennessand >20%greenness)

2 Classes (Scrubs,dense)2 Classes (<30%density, > 30%density)

3 type classes and 5 density classes(<50% bamboo cover, >50% bam-boo cover, those without bamboo,5-20% density, 21-40% density,4l-60% density, density andmore than 80% density

-

3 density classes (5-20%, 21-40%,41-60%)

2 Classes (rubber, 6 Classes (rubber, mixed, teak, euca-mixed) lyptus, cashew, coconut)

No additional information on AP’sBamboo areas could not be iden-tified on satellite data, whereas 3additional classes were distinct onAP’s

One additional class on satellitedataOne additional class on AP’s

6 categories of individual planta-tions and two age groups (old andyoung) could be identified onAP’s. Teak less than 5 m heightcan also be identified.P u r e a riculture land could besepara le from fallow landOnly large habitations could beidentified in satellite dataNo additional information on AP’sNo additional information on AP’s

Forest blanks Identified Identified No additional information on AP’s

Remote Sensing Application in Bamboo Resource Evaluation: a Case Study in Kerala 5 3

sl.No. Thematic Class Satellite data(FCC)

Sl.No. Cover type and Symbol123

12

61-80%,


Prepared from 1:1 5,000 (black and white)aerial photographs

MAP SCALE 1:25,000

_EGEND

LAND COVER TYPE CLASSESEvergreen forests - EFMoist deciduous forests

- Without bamboos - M D- With < 50% bamboo cover - M B- With > 50% bamboo cover - BM

Scrub - SCPlantations

-Young <5 mht- Old >5 mht- Rubber- Teak- Coconut

Agriculture

Forest blanks

Exposed rocks

H a b i t a t i o n

DENSITY CLASSES

- Y- 0- PR- PT- PC

- A

- B

- X

- H

5 - 2 0 % - A2 1 - 4 0 % - B4 1 - 6 0 % - C6 1 - 8 0 % - D

>81% - E

HEIGHT CLASSES

<15 m - 115-25m - 2> 25 m - 3

ANNOTATION

MD/2B = Forest cover/height class/density class

Figure 1: Vegetation map of Attappady Region (Kerala) showing bamboo area

54 Remote Sensing Application in Bamboo Resource Evaluation: a Case Study in Kerala


GIS on Bamboo Distribution in KeralaP.Vijayakumaran Nair*

IntroductionSeveral species of tree grasses, bamboo, play an importantrole in the economy of Kerala. Some members belongingto the genus Ochlandra are locally called as reeds. Thispaper deals with the importance of bamboo and reeds withreference to Kerala State, gives a brief introduction toGeographical Information System (GIS) and status ofbamboo and reeds for domestic purposes and as an indus-trial raw material. Peculiarities of storing data on bambooin a GIS are discussed.

GISGeographical information systems are data bases in whichdata are stored with relation to spatial coordinates likelatitude and longitude. In addition to generating informa-tion pertaining to specific queries, the status of a particu-lar item in a specific geographic area can be generated,overlayed, combined or filtered with another similar dataset. Geographical information systems become powerfultools in management of natural resources because basedon available data, prediction models can be generated. Thegregarious flowering of many of the species under consid-eration slightly complicates the analysis.

Bamboo and reedsFrom the point of view of utilisation, Bambusa arundina-cea and Ochlandra travancorica are the most importantspecies in Kerala. Bambusa arundinacea is the thornybamboo found almost throughout Kerala in the forest aswell as in domestic home steads. It has several uses formaking ladders, for scaffolding, poles, fencing and formaking paper. Dendrocalamus strictus which needs a dryclimate is found only in very small patches in places likeChinnar and Wynad. Ochlandra travancorica is the com-mon reed found in the semievergreen and evergreen fo-rests of Kerala. It grows in dense patches in cleared landand is used for paper making and weaving baskets. Sever-al other reeds are treated the same way by users.

4

Sources of informationThe Forest Resources Survey described the status of bam-boo and reeds in every forest Division (Chandrasekharan,1973). The industry oriented management plan also ex-amines availability of reeds as an industrial raw material(Asari, 1976). Prasad and Gadgil (1982) examine severalaspects of bamboo ecology. Krishnan Kutty (1991) esti-mate the quantity of bamboo available in domestic home-steads and Muktesh Kumar (1991a) examine theecological and botanical parameters affecting reeds.

BambooSpecies involvedKumar (1991b) reports 29 species of bamboo and reedsunder 13 genera from Kerala. The region wise distributionof the bamboo is being compiled under a subproject of theIDRC project on bamboo. Of the six species of Ochlandrareported from Kerala, Ochlandra travancorica occurs inall Divisions. 0. scriptoria also has a wide distribution innine Forest Divisions. 0. beddomii was found in three Di-visions (Konni, Nemmara and Quilon). 0. sivagiriana (inChalakudy and Kothamangalam Divisions) and 0. wightii(in Achancoil and Thenmala Divisions)were found in twoDivisions each. 0. setigera was found only in Nilambur(Figure 1). Four forest Divisions had four species of reeds,four Divisions had three species of reeds and four Divi-sions had one species of reed (Figure 2). The distributiondata exist at this time as specimen collection point sam-ples. Survey of extent of the species in the particular areais intended under the project. For other genera even thislevel of information is not available. Work is in progressfor documenting these details under a subproject of theIDRC project.

Bamboo usesBamboo are used mainly in three ways.

AbsrtactThis paper deal with the importance of bamboo and reeds with reference to the Kerala State; gives a briefintroduction to Geographical information System (Gis) and status of bamboo and reeds for domestic pur-poses and as an industrial raw material. Bambusa arundinacea and Ochlandra travancorica, the two economi-cally most important species have different flowering cycles,climatic requirements, biotic disturbances andextraction pressures.The quantity of reeds and bamboo consumed annually by the industry show much fluc-tuation due to several factors. Past and present data si being compiled into a Database format .Bambusa arundinacea from forest is used for pulp making and the same from homesteads for domestic use.Ochlan-dra travancorica comes exclusively from forest and is used in the pulp and dcottage industries. A vectorbased GIS woule be ideal for storing the data on bamboo because of the patchy distribution of the resourceand the oblong shape of the State.Several types of data such as administrative units,their area,rainfall,maps,vegetation type,land use and bamboo distribution are for the time being sorted in a CDS/SIS Data-base,Administrative divisions are being digitised in terms of latitude/longitude coordinates and stored infiles.The same is used for generating distribution maps through a Pascal programme.

Bamboo in the Asia Pacific P r o c e e d i n g s 4 t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l B a m b o o W o r k s h o p , 1 9 9 1

1) Industrial use, for making pulp in paper and rayon in-dustries. Bamboo posses long fiber and are used formixing with wood based pulp.

2) For weaving baskets. These baskets are used for pack-ing materials. Woven mats are also used for makingroom dividers, and in recent times for making bamboo-ply, a compressed, glued plywood like material.

3) For household requirements, for making ladders, roof-ing and shed construction, as poles in constructionwork, banana support, fencing etc.

Bamboo and reeds are obtained mainly from forestedareas. Many homesteads also contain clumps of bamboo.Plantation of bamboo have been attempted in few placesby the Forest Department but the area under such is verysmall. Bamboo are not intentionally planted as a crop indomestic land, though the changing price return factormay change this in course of time.

1) For the industrial use, the bamboo come almost entirelyfrom forests. Almost all the bamboo legally extractedfrom the forests go to the industry. Demand for bam-boo raw material is on the increase year by year, andthe pressure in likely to increase when new industrialunits are started. Availability of bamboo from the for-est is affected by factors like decline in natural regen-eration due to fire and grazing. Reduction in forestarea due to submersion of area under water and mak-ing of plantations also affect growth of bamboo.

2) Most of the reeds for weaving come from forest areas.There an agency, the Bamboo Corporation, collectsand distributes bamboo to the workers. About 20% ofreeds collected from the forests go for this purpose.Though the percentage is less, it supports a large num-ber of workers. The number of persons involved inthis, one may say remains static. Increasing use ofbamboo mats for laminated products is likely to be afactor that may bring about a change in the quantityused or number of persons employed in this sector.

3) Bambusa arundinacea regenerates in unattended landsdue to favorable climate conditions. Sometimes it isalso grown as an intercrop. These culms are mainlyused for household purposes and in buildingconstruction.

statusThe quantity of bamboo and reeds estimated required bythe user agencies, the Gwalior Rayons, Hindustan News-print Ltd., the Punalur Paper Mills and others is shown inFigure 3. For industrial use the proportion of bamboo andreed required and the proportion mixed with wood variesto some extent with availability of raw material. Prolongedlabor strikes and layoff make the projections meaninglessfor some units. The State requires about 300,000 tonnes of

bamboo and reeds annually. More than half of this isBambusa arundinacea, about l/3 of which goes for do-nestic consumption. Among the industrial consumers,Gwalior Rayons use mostly Bambusa arundinacea,whereas the Punalur Paper Mills and Hindustan News-print use reeds. Another significant attempt in quantifica-ion of bamboo resources is the work of Krishnan Kutty(199 1); in which the production of the bamboo in home-&ads is examined.

FloweringMany species of bamboo flower at the end of their lifecycle and die away. Bambusa arundinacea is known toRower once in about 40 years (Prasad, 1981). Gamble (1979) describes Ochlandra travancorica flowering oncein seven years. Field observations do not agree with this.Prasad (198 1) lists about 25 flowering dates from Keralafor Bambusa arundinacea. Flowering had occurred almostuniformly throughout the past 100 years in the case ofBambusa arundinacea and Dendrocalamus strictus whenIndia as a whole is considered. Additional flowering datafrom Kerala is being compiled under this project.

GIS - technical aspectsln a computer based GIS, geographic data are representedas points, lines and areas or as attributes of grids. The datamay be stored at a high level of detail and then plotted at amore general level and at a different scale.

Major componentsThe information for a geographic feature has four majorcomponents, its geographic position, its attributes, its spa-tial relationships and location.

LocationThe locations are recorded in terms of a coordinate systemlike the latitude/longitude system. Some data may be accu-rate with in meters while other data may be accurate to100 meter

Attribute

The second characteristic of geographic data are their at-tributes. For example a feature might be a forest stand. Itsattributes might include the species composition, averagetree height, crown closure and the date it was logged.

RelationshipThe third character of geographic data is spatial relation-ship. In a map these relations are entities to a person look-ing at a map but in a computer based GIS relationshipsmust be expressed in a computer usable manner. Onlysome of the spatial relations can be explicitly defined in aGIS, the reminder is either calculated as needed or is notavailable.

5 6 GIS on Bamboo Distribution in Kerala


Table 1: Comparison of Rastor and Vector model

Rastor Model Vector Model It is a simple data structure, but less compact. Often data com-pression may have to be done data can be input from tables orFrom gridded maps directly. Quad representation permits displayin data at desired level, easily identification of nearest neighborbut file maintenance is more time consuming.Easy to implement overlay operations.Easy to represent high spatial variability. But accuracy of area es-timation depend on cell resolution.

Manipulation and enhancement of digital images possible.

Topological relations are more difficult to represent using largenumber of cells to get smooth outline may result in very largefile.Edges and lines in maps would appear ragged.

TimeTime may be an important factor in some types of data.The history of a forest patch may be important.

The Rastor model and the Vector modelThere are two fundamental approaches to the representa-tion of the spatial component of a geographic information-:the Vector model and the Rastor model. On the Vectormodel every position in the map space has a unique coor-dinate value. Points, lines and polygons are used to repre-sent irregularly distributed geographic objects. In theRaster model the space is regularly subdivided into cells(usually square in shape). Location of geographic objectsor conditions is defined by the row and column position ofthe cells they occupy. The position of a geographic featureis only recorded to the nearest cell. Run length encoding,quad-tree representation are used to compress Raster data.In the Vector model, sphagetti models and topologicalmodels are available. In the later, many spatial analysis,such as contiguity and connectivity analysis can be done,largely, if not entirely using the topological data alone. ietime consuming computation of spatial coordinates can beavoided, but changing or updating can be time consuming.

Attribute data is often stored in a relational DBMS struc-ture. Instead of storing different maps, data for differentelements are stored with minimum redundancy and thenmaps are generated when required. In the hybrid approachthe non-spatial data is stored in a commercially availableDBMS (e.g. ARC/INFO).

More compact data structure. A digitiser is a mustfor inputing maps.

More suited for net work analysis.More closely approximate graphics that closelyapproximates hand drawn maps. The extra effortis worthwhile because results obtained are veryaccurate.It is better to separate digital image analysis andGIS, classified images can be input into the GIS.In powerful computers topological searches arealso feasible.

Maps can be cropped and printed to any scale.-There will not be any stairs case effects.

GIS implementationSeveral types of data such as administrative units, theirarea and their maps, rainfall, vegetation type, land use,etc. are being stored in CDS/ISIS Database. This textbased Database programme has been found to be ideal forstoring data of unpredictable length and repeating fields.The extensive indexing and query facility of the pro-gramme has been useful for retrieving required items.This data will be transferred to a full fledged GIS packagein the course of the project. The lack of graphical interfaceof CDS/ISIS is being compensated through a Pascal pro-gramme which accepts digitised map files and displaysstatus of variables under consideration.

ReferencesAsari, S. 1976. Industry oriented management plan forreeds. 1977-1978 to 1991-1992. Kerala ForestDepartment.Chandrasekharan, C. 1973. Forest resources of Kerala.Kerala Forest Department.Gamble, J.S. 1979. The flora of Presidency of Madras. Bi-shen Singh Mahapal Singh, Dehra Dun.Krishnan Kutty, 1991 Market study of Bamboo and reed.In: Bamboo India. Final Technical report. Kerala ForestResearch Institute. Peechi.Kumar, M. 1991 a. Rare and endangered bamboo. Paperpresented at symposium on rare, endangered and endem-ic plants of the Western Ghats. Kerala Forest Department,Trivandrum.Kumar, M. 199lb. Distribution and ecology of bambooreeds. In: Bamboo India. Final Technical report. KeralaForest Research Institute. Peechi.Prasad, S.N. and Gadgil, M. 1981. Conservation of Bam-boo resources of Karnataka. A technical report of Workinggroup on Bamboo resources constituted by KarnatakaSTEC, Bangalore.

GIS on Bamboo Distribution in Kerala 57

sl.No.


m tools

Ot

use hold (Bj Cattle stays

60

t-louse constn.- - - - -

HNP (R)7 0

20

Bamboo (B) Reeds (R) Bamboo household use based on peak consumption rates

Figure 3: Consumption pattern of reeds and bamboo

AREAS

Figure 4: Division wise status of Bambusaarundinacea

Figure 5: Percentage of reeds available in differ-ent Divisions

GIS on Bamboo Distribution in Kerala 59


Availability, Distribution of Bamboo andits Industrial Status in Peninsular Malaysia*

Abd. Latif Mohmod & Abd. Razak Othman**

Bamboo is a perennial grass belonging to the sub-familyBambusoidae of the family Graminae (Holtum, 1959). It isa secondary forest species and considered to be a fastgrowing and high yielding renewable resource. It is thesecond most important non timber resource and rankedthird after timber and rattan (Aminuddin & Abd. Latif,1991).

Peninsular Malaysia has 50 bamboo species of which 25are indegenous while the rest are known only in cultiva-tion (Wong, 1989). All the bamboo species are groupedunder 10 genera namely Bambusa, Chusquea (cultivated),Dendrocalamus, Dinochloa, Gigantochloa, Phyllostachys(cultivated), Racemobamboos, Schizostachyum, Thrysos-tachys (cultivated) and Yushania (cultivated). Of the totalspecies, only about 13 are commercially utilized while therest are left idle in their habitat with lack of knowledge ontheir properties and potential usage. The commerciallyutilized bamboo species, their distribution, uses and culmcharacteristics are given in Table 1.

Bamboo is commonly found in quantities in areas that aredisturbed such as logged over forest, degraded land or inmarginal localities fringing the forest, river banks and hillsides. Even though the bamboo resources are abundant,there are almost no pure natural bamboo stands or planta-tion in Peninsular Malaysia. Despite current strong inter-est in bamboo, planting initiative and its acceptance as apotential alternative to timber in the near future, very littleis known on its distribution patterns within the country.Detailed data on the relationship of bamboo species andtheir localities within the natural range and potentialsources of this material for provenance trial, however, isnecessary for an effective bamboo domesticationprogramme.

Although the bamboo industry has existed since the 50’s,its activities are confined to traditional products, servingmainly the limited local market (Abd. Latif & Ashaari,1991). The machine intensive bamboo industry has onlybeen introduced in the last five to six years as the industryadapts to the market demand for more value added bam-boo products such as disposable chopsticks and skewers.Prior to this, commercial exploitation of bamboos catered

mainly to the needs of the agriculture sector. This is stillthe situation but to a different degree. Among the productsare basket for transporting greens, poultry and hogs. Theindustry which produces these products is purely cottageas well as part time in nature, where the work force com-prises mostly rural housewives and children who workduring their free time to supplement the family income.The machine intensive bamboo industry, comparatively, iswell organised and hence has more efficient use of labourand supply of raw material are assured. About US$100,000.00 worth of machine intensive bamboo productsare exported annually (Anonymous, 1989).

ObjectivesThis paper provides some information on the distributionof the commercial bamboo species particularly and de-tailed information on the industry with respect to its de-velopmental activities.

MethodologyBamboo: availability and distributionIn this study, data from the Forest Inventory for Peninsu-lar Malaysia in 1988 was utilised. A ground survey wasalso conducted concurrently by the Rattan and BambooAgroforestry Unit of FRIM from 1988 to 1990. The inven-tory returns provide the best basis to date for preliminarymapping of the most distinctive type of the bamboo spe-cies included.

Bamboo industryThe survey was conducted by the Smale Scale Develop-ment Unit (SSDU) of FRIM in a three year programmefrom January 1988 to December 1990. Information on themanufacturers and their activities was gathered from thequestionaires which include factory background, raw ma-terial supply and production capacity.


Results and discussionBamboo growth and distributionDepending on the species, bamboo grows in areas fromsea level to as high as 3,000 m. They thrive best on welldrained sandy to clay loam or from underlying rocks witha pH of 5.0 - 6.5 (Abd. Razak et al., 1990). The distribu-tion of the commonly exploited indegenous bamboo spe-cies is presented in Figure 1. They are mostlyconcentrated in the north-west of Peninsular Malaysia,particularly in the eight following areas:

1. Nami-Pedu-Sik-Baling area in KedahCommon species : G. scortechiniiOther speciesG. ligulata, G. wrayi, S. grande and

S. zollingerii

2. Kroh-Grik area in PerakCommon species : G. scortechiniiOther species S. zollingerii, D. pendulus and S.

grande3. Jeli-Gua Musang in Kelantan

Common species : G. scortechiniiOther species : D. pendulus and S. grande

4. Cameron Highland-Kuala Lipis in PahangCommon species : G. scortechiniiOther species : D. pendulus and S. grande

5. Tapah-Slim-Behrang in PerakCommon species : G. scortechiniiOther species : 5’. grande

6. Ulu-Selangor-Ulu langat-Kuala Klawang-Bentong area in Selangar and PahangCommon species : G. scortechinii0 t her species G. wrayi, S. grande and D.

pendulus7. Moakil Forest Reserve In Johor

Common species : D. pendulusOther species : S zollingerii

8. Other minor areasa. Mata Ayer Forest Reserved in Perlis.

Common species : G. ligulataOther species : S. zollingerii and G. scortechinii

b. Bukit Ibam-Rompin in Pahang.Common species : G. scortechinii

c. Hulu Terengganu in Terengganu.Common species : G. scortechinii, D. pendulus and

Gigantochloa speciesd. Lebir Forest Reserved in Kelantan.

Common species: Gtgantochloa sp. and D. pendulus

Availability and estimated productionBamboo are obtained by gatherers who are mostly Malaysand the Orang Ash. These gatherers are normally giventhe right to extract bamboo in gazetted lands particularlythe logged-over forest areas where these materials arefound in abundance. Other sources of these materials areriver banks, hill sides and ridge tops; from land under theFELDA (Federal Land Development Authority), FELCRA

(Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Author-ity) and state government rural development schemes. TheMalaysian Forestry Department classifies bamboo into twogroups namely Betong of the Gigantochloa species andnon-Betong (respective diameter of more and less than 5cm). While the royalty for the non-betong is about three tofour cents per 6 metre, the betong group command betterprices (average royalty of 8 to 10 cents per culm). Themost common bamboo extracted for the consumption oflocal industries annually was found to be G. scortechinii(about 70%) followed by D. pendulus (about 20%) and G.wrayi, S. grande, S. zollingerii and G. ligulata (the totalof 10%).

The royalties collected from bamboo in 1980 to 1987 arepresented in Table 2. The data show that the amount ofannual royalty collected was the highest in Perak (about44%) followed by Kedah (33 %), Johor (l0%), Selangor(8 %), Perlis and Pahang (about 2% each).

In order to visualize the growth in bamboo trade and esti-mated culm productions, it is imperative to translate theroyalty collected into volume. By taking the average royal-ty collected within 1980-1987 (based on average royalty ofthree cents per culm), the production of culm and its dryweight (180 culms equivalent to 1 tonne dry-weight) canbe estimated (Table 2).

The amount of culm dry weight as calculated from thebamboo taxation (Table 3) is far lower than the volumeestimated by Abd. Latif (1987) and Abd. Razak & Abd.Latif (1988). This could be due to the fact that the royaltycollected varied depending on the state and size of thebamboo culms. While Kedah, for instance, imposed threeto four cents taxation per bamboo culms, almost no royaltywas charged in the state of Kelantan.

Distribution of the bamboo industryThe distribution and location of the machine intensivebamboo-based industries are presented in Table 4 and Fig-ure 2. Of the 297 mills surveyed, 205 or 69 percent ofthem were engaged solely in vegetable-basket making. Atotal of 51 mills (17.2 percent) were involved in producingcrafts and novelty items, 34 mills (11.4 percent) in man-ufacturing utensil products such as skewers and chop-sticks, 4 furniture-making mills (1.3 percent) while theother 3 mills (1.0 percent) were engaged in the productionof joss paper.

The mills were concentrated in five states viz. Perak(73.1%), Negeri Sembilan and Pahang (5.4% each), Se-langor/ Federal Territory (4.7%) and Johor (4.0 %). Thisis due to the bamboo resources which are mainly concen-trated within these areas (Figure 1). While the majority ofthe non-bumiputera mills were predominantly located inPerak (93.4%), the bumiputera-owned mills were scat-tered all over the country particularly in Negeri Sembilan(18.3%), Pahang (16.9%), Johor (4.0%), Selangor/ Feder-al Territory (12.7%) and Terengganu (9.9 %).

Availability, Distribution of Bamboo and its industrial Status in Peninsular Malaysia 61

IDRC CRDI - International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation

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