Bamboo distribution and utilization - Yang Yuming¹, Wang Kanglin² and Hui Chaomao¹

¹ Vice President and Director. Southwest Forestry College, Kunming, China
² Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Science., Kunming 650204, China

Bamboos are mainly distributed in tropical, subtropical zones on the earth, and tropical monsoon region. Yunnan province includes all the three types of regions. Because of overlaying mountains, rivers, different altitudes, complex topography, diverse climate types have helped the growth and richness of the bamboo flora of Yunnan.

More than 200 species and 27 genera of bamboos are distributed in Yunnan. The distribution of various bamboo genera in S.E. Asia and Yunnan are compared (Table 1).

Bamboo resources and distribution

Types of bamboo forests and their distribution

Main bamboo forest types are not less than 30. The main and subforest types, natural features of the areas and main species present in each are summarized (Table 2, 3). The area of natural and manmade bamboo forest in Yunnan is about 331 000 ha, 10% of the total bamboo resources in China, and the distribution of natural bamboo forest is the largest among all provinces in China. According to survey and statistical details, large and medium natural bamboo forests (bamboo diameter not less than 3 cm) cover 189 000 ha, mainly in South Yunnan (covering 154 000 ha). Small bamboo forests (diameter under 3 cm) cover 112 000 ha, mainly distributed in Western and Northwestern subalpine and alpine regions of Yunnan.

Bamboos are commonly cultivated around villages, fields, roads, and other areas and the total area covered is about 30 000 ha. The bamboo shoot production from large and medium natural bamboo forests is estimated to be 40 000-50 000 tons annually and the fresh weight of shoots produced average about 212-264 kg ha^-1. Production from planted bamboo is about 15 000 tons, total of both is approximately 55 000-65 000 tons per year. The total standing culm volume (in green weight) of the large and medium natural bamboo forest is estimated to be 17-19 million tons, averaging 90-100 t ha^-1, where the annual culm output of planted bamboos is about 72 000-84 000 tons and total production of both would reach 4 920 000-5 540 000 tons.

Resource utilization

Shoots of many bamboo species are edible. Dendrocalamus hamiltonii is mostly found in the tropical zone of Yunnan, and is very widely planted. The shoots, are thick soft and fleshy, tasting delicious and favoured by natives for fresh food. They are also very suitable for canning.

Schizostachyum spp. distributed in the southeast of Yunnan produces shoots from early spring to late summer. S. pinbinensis can produce large a number of tender, delicious shoots all year round. The culm can be used for weaving. Qiongzhuea tumidinoda in northeast of Yunnan generates high quality bamboo shoots in large numbers which is suitable for export. Several species of Chimonocalamus spp. are famous for their fragrance and fat content. Many species of Chimonobambusa, Fargesia, Yushania are distributed widely and produce shoots in autumn.

Dendrocalamus membranaceus production averages more than 100 t ha^-1. Culms are suitable for making paper and weaving. Cephalostachyum pergracile is used by Dai people to cook fragrant rice and is also used to make farm tools.

Indosasa sinica forest covers 20 000 ha in the southeastern part of Yunnan and provides excellent material for buildings, furniture, man-made board, paper, weaving, chopsticks and edible bamboo shoots. It is named as “Yunnan Phyllostachys pubescens”.

Small bamboo species of Fargesia and Yushania cover 100 000 ha, distributed mainly in the west and northwest of Yunnan. The output, over 45 t ha^-1, provides excellent material for making paper, bamboo string, door curtain and common tools. Bamboo shoots are eaten either fresh or dried. There are many climbing bamboo species in the tropical zone of southern Yunnan, some are endemic. Their stalks are tender and used in weaving garment and to make ropes. Many other species are underutilized but have great potential to increase its economic value.

The production of bamboo shoots in Yunnan is 55 000-65 000 tons per year, and 33 400-41 600 tons of that can be easily harvested with the total value of 16 700 000-20 000 000 yuan at 0.50 yuan/kg. Only 33 400-41 600 tons are collected and the rest of them are wasted. Bamboo shoots actually utilized in Yunnan do not exceed 15% of 33 400-41 600 tons and only 10% of total collected and only 10% of the total increased are traded.

The utilization of bamboo material is very limited for making daily tools, farm tools, spring board, bamboo fence, and paper. About 70 000 big and 3 260 000 small culms are used to make chips, bamboo articles and bamboo chopsticks. The largest use of bamboo material is for making paper, which uses 25 000-30 000 tons as bamboo material collected every year in Yunnan province. The total output of bamboo culms is 1 million tons per year. Out of that, 5 million tons are for trade and 1 million tons are used for making paper. More support is needed from different quarters to increase the production of various articles.

Table 1. Genera and species of bamboo in Yunnan

Genera	Type1	Species number			Ratio (%)3	World	China4	Yunnan5	Uses6
		W	C	Y2
Melocanna	A	1	1	1	100%	Burma China	GD, GX, YN	WS	W, P
Schizostachyum	F	70	10	4	40%	SE. Asia	YN, GD, HN, TW, JX	WS, HH, SM, BN, DH, LC, LP	S, W, P, O
Pseudostachyum	B	1	1	1	100%	China Burma India	YN, GX	South to Southwest	V, S, W
Cephalostachyum	D	12	5	5	100%	China India Burma Malaysia	YN	BN, DH, BS, LC	W, F, O, S
Thyrsostachys	A	2	2	2	100%	Thai China India Burma	YN, FJ, GD, TW	BN, DH	B, T, O, S
Melocalamus	B	5	5	5	100%	China Burma	YN, GX, XZ	BN, DH, LC, HH, SM	W, T
Dinochloa	A	20	2	2	100%	China Malaysia	YN, HaN	The edge of south	W, T
Neomicrocalamus	H	3	3	2	67%	China	XZ, YN	DH
Bambusa	D	100	64	28	44%	Asia Africa	S. & W. of China	Trop. to subtrop. area	B, W, S
Dendrocalamopsis	H	10	10	3	30%	China	S. & SW. of China	BN	W, S, B
Neosinocalamus	B	3	2	2	100%	China	S., SW of China	Widely planting	W, S, B
Dendrocalamus	A	35	30	24	80%	China SE. Asia	YN, GD, GX, SC, GZ, FJ, TW	Tropical to subtropical areas	S, B, W, T
Gigantochloa	F	30	9	9	100%	China	YN, HK	BN, DH, LC	S, B, W
Indosasa	C	16	16	6	38%	China Japan Vietnam	YN, GX, GD, GZ, HN, ZJ	WS, HH, SM, BN, LC, DH	P, F, S, B
Sinobambusa	E	17	13	2	15%	China Japan Vietnam	GZ, YN, ZJ, FJ, GD, GX	WS, LP	B, W, O
Phyllostachys	E	70	48	14	29%	China Japan India Burma	S. part of Yangtz river	Widely distributed	S, O, W, T
Chimonobambusa	E	19	19	8	42%	China Japan Burma India	SE., E., S. & M. of China	NJ, BS, ZT, QJ, HH, WS, BN, DH	w, s, O, F
Qiongzhuea	H	8	8	1	13%	China	YN, GZ, SC	ZT	S, O, A
Chimonocalamus	B	10	9	8	89%	China India Burma	YN, XZ	WS, HH, BN, LC, DH, BS	W, O, S
Drepanostachyum	H	5	5	3	60%	China	YN, SC, GZ, TW	ZT	W, P
Fargesia	B	80	77	41	53%	China Nepal India	YN, XZ, GZ, SC, HN	Wildly mountain of Yunnan	S, F, T
Yushania	D	60	57	22	39%	China India	YN, ZJ, FJ, SC, GX, GZ	LP, HH, WS, BN, LC, DH, BS, LJ, DL	B, S, T
Teinostachyum	C	6	2	2	100%	India China Sik-kim	YN	WS, HH, BN	W, T
Pleioblastus	E	20	18	3	17%	China Japan	YN, FJ, GZ, ZJ, GD, SC	KM, ZT	B, F W
Bashania	H	4	4	2	50%	China	YN, SC, HB, SX	KM	B, O
Ferrocalamus	H	1	1	1	100%	China	YN	HH	W, Ba
Indocalamus	A	30	23	4	17%	SE. & S. of Asia	YN, SC, JX, GZ, GD, GX	SM, WS, LJ	S, T, F

Note:

1. Type:

A - Trop. Asia (Indo-Malaysia)
B -Trop. India to S. China (esp. S. Yunnan)
C - Vietnam (or Indo-Chinese peninsula) to S. China
D - Trop. Asia, Africa to S. America
E - Trop. Asia & E. Africa or Madagascar disjuncted
F - Trop. Asia to Trop. Africa
H - Endemic

2. W - World; C - China; Y - Yunnan

3. Ratio % species in Yunnan/species of China X 100%

4. Province of China: FJ - Fujian; GD - Guangdong; GX - Guangxi; GZ - Guizhou; HK -Hongkong; HaN - Hainan; JX - Jiangxi; HN - Hunan; SC - Sichuan; TW - Taiwan; XZ -Tibet; YN - Yunnan; ZJ - Zeijiang

5. Area of Yunnan: BN - Xishuangbanna; BS - Baoshan; CX - Chuxiong; DH - Dehong; DL - Dali; DQ - Diqing; HH - Honghe; KM - Kunming; LC - Linchang; LJ - Lijiang; LP -Luoping; NJ - Nujiang; QQ - Qujing; SM - Simao; WS - Wenshan; YX - Yuxi; ZT - Zhaotong

6. Uses: A - Art; B - Building; Bo - Bow and Arrow; F - Furniture; O - Ornament; P -Papermaking; S - Shoot; T - Tool; W - Weaving; V - substitute for Vine

Forest Vegetation subtype	Type	Stalk type*	Distribution in Yunnan	Habit
Cold temp. bamboo forest	Fargesia spp. forest	MiA	Alpine and sub-alpine in N. & NW	Natural
Warm bamboo	Yushania spp. forest	MiA	Widely distributed in subtropical C.	Natural
	Fargesia yunnanensis forest	MeA	distributed in mountain in C.& S.	Natural & introduced
	Chimonobambusa spp. forest	MeM	Widely distributed	Natural
	Qiongzhuea tumidinoda forest	MeM	Yongshan, Daguan, Yuliang, Zhengxiong	Natural
	Neosinocalamus affinis forest	MaS	Widely planted in Center	Introduced
	Bambusa intermedia forest	MaS	basin, river and valley in C. & S.	Natural & introduced
	Phyllostachys pubescens forest	MaM	Yuliang, Yuanjin	Natural & introduced
	Ph. nigra var. henonis forest	MeM	Widely cultivated in C. & S.	Introduced
	Teinostachyum spp. forest	MiL	Xichou, Jingping, Mengla, Guannan	Natural
Hot bamboo forest	Chimonocalamus spp. forest	MeS	SE & SW	Natural
	Dendrocalamus membranaceus forest	MaS	Lanchang river, Honghe, Dehong	Natural
	D. giganteus forest	MaS	Widely cultivated in South	Introduced & natural
	D. yunnanensis forest	MaS	Widely cultivated in South	Introduced & natural
	D. sikkimensis forest	MaS	Hekou, Jingping, Xishuangbanna	Natural
	D. barbatus forest	MaS	Low hot region in S. to SW	Natural & introduced
	Bambusa sinospinosa forest	MaS	Dry hot region in SE to SW	Introduced & natural
	Schizostachyum fungomii forest	MaS	Moisture region in SE to SW	Natural
	S. pingbianensis forest	MaS	Pinbian, Malipo, Maguan	Natural
	Cephalostachyum pergracile forest	MaS	Xishuangbanna, Si-mao, Dehong, Lichang	Natural & introduced
	Indosasa sinica forest	MaM	SE to SW	Natural
	I. purpurea forest	MeM	Wenshan, Honghe	Natural
	I. spp. forest	MiM	SE to SW	Natural
	Ferrocalamus strictus forest	MeM	Jingping, Luchun, Yuanyan	Natural
	Melocalamus compactiflorus forest	MeL	Xishuangbanna, De-hong, Lichang, Honghe	Natural
	Pseudostachyum polymorphum forest	MeM	Xishuangbanna, Dehong	Natural
	Bambusa lapidea forest	MaS	Southern hot region	Natural
	Thyrsostachys siamensis forest	MaS	Xishuangbanna, Dehong	Natural & introduced
	Gigantochloa spp. forest	MaS	Xishuangbanna, Lichang, Dehong	Natural & introduced
	Dinochloa spp. forest	MaL	Xishuangbanna, Lichang, Dehong	Natural
	Schizostachyum chinensis forest	MeL	Hekou, Jinping	Natural

Note: Stalk Type: MaM - Macromonopodial type; MaS - Macrosympodial type; MeA - Mesoamphipodial type; MeM - Mesomonopodial type; MeS - Mesosympodial type; MiA - Microamphipoidal type; MiM - Micromonopoidal type

Forest Region	Natural features	Forest Subregion	Main Species of Bamboo
I. Dendrocalamus membranaceus, D. giganteus macrosympodial type in S. & SW.	North tropical, south subtrop. to medium & low mountain, valley moisture	Xishuangbanna, Lichang-Simao subregion, Dehong & S. Baoshan	Dendrocalamus membranaceus, D. giganteus, Cephalostachyum pergracile, Chimonocalamus spp., Gigantochloa spp., Melocalamus spp., Bambusa spp., Pseudostachyum spp., Dinochloa spp., Chimonocalamus spp.
II. Schizostachyum funghomii, Indosasa spp. macroamphipodial in SE	North tropical to south subtropical medium & low mountain moisture & semimoisture	Honghe, Wenshan, SE of Qujing	Schizostachyum funghomii, S. chinensis, Indosasa sinicus, Bambusa spp., Teinostachyum spp., Dendrocalamus sikkimensis, D. yunnanensis, Chimonobambusa spp., Melocalamus spp., Chimonocalamus spp.
III. Neosinocalamus affinis, Bambusa intermedia & Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis mesoamphipodial type in Center	Medium sub-tropical tablel and lake basin semimoisture	Kunming, Chuxiong, Yuxi, South of Qujing & East of Dali	Neosinocalamus affinis, Yushania spp., Bambusa intermedia, Fargesia yunnanensis, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis
IV. Chimonobambusa spp., Qiongzhuea tumidinoda mesosympodial type in Northeastern	North sub-tropical medium mountain semimoisture	Zhaotong & north of Qujing	Chimonobambusa spp., Qiongzhuea tumidinoda, Chimonocalamus spp., Phyllostachys pubescens, Fargesia spp. Yushania spp.
V. Fargesia spp., Yushania spp. microamphipodial type in Northwest	Warm temperate zone subhigh & high mountain, semimoisture & dry region & north sub-tropical region	Nujiang, Lijiang & north of Dali	Yushania spp., Chimonobambusa spp., Fargesia spp. Neomicrocalamus spp., Indocalamus spp.