Bamboo Facts
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. Some species of bamboo can grow more than 1 meter per day, which is about 4 cm per hour. No other plant grows faster.
Bamboo acts as a reservoir by collecting and storing large amounts of water in its rhizomes and stems during rainy season, and returning water to the soil, rivers, and streams during droughts.
Bamboo captures huge amounts of carbon dioxide which they generate and convert into oxygen. The amount of oxygen produced by a tree or bamboo is directly related to the amount of sequestered carbon. Bamboo produces 30% - 50% more oxygen than trees, depending on the type of bamboo.
Bamboo is a sustainable and renewable resource as it continuously spreads vegetatively. A bamboo forest will therefore develop much faster than tree forests.
Bamboo plants absorbs enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, and because of its rapid growth, bamboo is very useful as a tool for carbon sequestration.
Bamboo is a great tool for soil protection due to its rapid growth, permanent canopy and huge network of roots and rhizomes.
Bamboo is an important part of a biodiverse ecosystem. Many animals rely on bamboo for food and shelter.
Bamboo is a sustainable energy source that produces 1 kWh of electricity from 1,2 kg of bamboo. This is like the biomass requirements for wood products but outperforms other types of biomass sources.
Bamboo can replace wood in almost any application. Today, there are thousands of bamboo products that completely replace wood, ranging from paper and pulp products, flooring, musical instruments, furniture, construction materials, and so on.
The bamboo sector plays an important role in the livelihoods of local farmers. Developing a stable bamboo industry is a great way to help reduce poverty, increase economic opportunities for men and women, and to fight global unemployment.