Bamboo FAQ

Note: (#) is for scientific references listed at bottom of page.
  1. What is bamboo and where is it most common?
    • Bamboo is woody-stemmed grass (1) that is one of the fastest growing plants known (2). There are over 1000 species of bamboo (3) and it is one of the most abundant plants in the subtropical and tropical regions (4). It is estimated that 80% of bamboo forests are located in Asia, with the remaining 20% split between South America and Africa (5).

  2. What is unique about bamboo compared to other (true) woods?
    • Bamboo reaches maturity in as little as 3 years, whereas other (true) woods can take upwards of 20 years or more (6)! What's more is that the growth rate of some bamboo species has been recorded at as much as 5 cm / 2 in per hour, achieving an astonishing height in 3 months of 18m / 60 ft (7). Also, bamboo has a greater strength by weight than concrete and steel due to its lignin-carbohydrate complex, but is also flexible (8).

  3. What makes bamboo a more sustainable material compared to alternatives?
    • Rapid growth and does not require fertilizers to achieve growth (9)
    • Can grow in a variety of soil types (9)
    • Pest resistance: grows without need for pesticides (10)
    • Lower carbon footprint and land use than wood (10)
    • Requires much less water than cotton to grow (11)
    • Biodegradable and compostable in short amount of time - one study found that a bamboo fibre lunch box showed full degradation in 70 days in soil (12). Time to degrade, however, varies depending on what other fibres the bamboo may be mixed with, but full degradation can be achieved in a relatively short time-span as long as all components are natural (organic, not inorganic) fibres.

  4. What are some uses of bamboo?
    • Construction (e.g., flooring, roofing, scaffolding), food, biofuel, textiles, true wood replacement, charcoal replacement (6, 9, 11)... to name a few.

 

References:

1. Ruiz-Sanchez E., Sosa V., Ortiz-Rodriguez A. E., Davidse G. Historical biogeography of the herbaceous bamboo tribe olyreae (bambusoideae: poaceae) Folia Geobotanica. 2019;54(3-4):177–189. doi: 10.1007/s12224-019-09342-7.

2. Cho E., Um Y., Kwan Yoo S., et al. An expressed sequence tag analysis for the fast-growing shoots of Bambusa edulis murno. Journal of Plant Biology. 2011;54(6):p. 402. doi: 10.1007/s12374-011-9179-2.

3. Zhu Z. H. The Development of Bamboo and Rattan in Tropical China. Beijing, China: China Forestry Publishing House; 2001.

4. Wu F.-H., Liu N.-T., Chou S.-J., et al. Identification of repressed gene transcript accumulation in three albino mutants of Bambusa edulis munro by cDNA microarray analysis. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 2009;89(13):2308–2316. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.3725.

5. Lobovikov M., Guardia M., Russo L. World Bamboo Resources: A Thematic Study Prepared in the Framework of the Global Forest Resources Assessment. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization; 2007.

6. Emamverdian A., Ding Y., Ranaei F., et al. Application of Bamboo Plants in Nine Aspects. Scientific World Journal. 2020; 2020: 7284203. doi: 10.1155/2020/7284203

7. Abdul Khalil H. P. S., Bhat I. U. H., Jawaid M., Hermawan M. A., Hadi Y. S. Bamboo fibre reinforced biocomposites: a review. Materials & Design. 2012;42:353–368. doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2012.06.015

8. Youssefian S., Rahbar N. Molecular origin of strength and stiffness in bamboo fibrils. Scientific Reports. 2015;5 doi: 10.1038/srep11116.11116

9. Chaturvedi K., Singhwane A., Dhangar M., et al. Bamboo for producing charcoal and biochar for versatile applications. Biomass Conservation and Biorefinery. 2023; doi: 10.1007/s13399-022-03715-3

10. Tausif M., Ahmad F., Hussain U., et al. A comparative study of mechanical and comfort properties of bamboo viscose as an eco-frienldy alternative to conventional cotton fibre in polyester blended knit fabrics. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2015; 89:110-115. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.11.011

11. Munjal K., Kashyap R. Bamboo Fiber: An Approach toward Sustainable Development. International Journal of Science and Research. 2013;4:1080-1083.

12. Jiang H., Wang G., Fuming C., et al. Degradation Characteristics of Environmentally-Friendly Bamboo Fiber Lunch Box Buried in the Soil. Forests. 2002, 13(7), 1008; doi: 10.3390/f13071008