Sustainable biomass production utlizing bamboo as an alternative renewable non-wood resource

To whomever this may concern:

Our organization represents a growing recent trend in Brazil, to
utilize BAMBOO as an alternative non-wood renewable resource.

thank you,

João     Paulo    Freire    Paglione
[FBB]  Fundação       BambuBrasil
[BBF]  Bamboo Brazil  Foundation
www.bambubrasil.org
Fone: 1-561-276-7327
Fax:   1-561-276-7327
eFax: 1-501-639-2695
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FundacaoBambuBrasil/
http://www.geocities.com/bamboobrazilfoundation

WHY BAMBOO? WHY BRAZIL?

Brazil was once referred to as "The Sleeping Giant" of South America.
No other country has so many resources, population, and potential for
growth. However, the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is at the
point of becoming an environmental disaster.

The sustainable use of existing bamboo stands, education, and the
creation of a national policy is one way to combat the growing trend
of deforestation and social inequaliy in Brazil ...

We are a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable institution which aims to
promote sustainable development in Brazil and combat social inequality
through the process of planting, promoting, and educating about
BAMBOO.

Thank you for your visit.

from http://www.bamboocentral.org/whybamboo.html

WHY BAMBOO? ... HERE'S WHY ...

DEFORESTATION and increased CO2 emissions threaten the earth's
biodiversity and the very air we breathe...

Perhaps the environmental crisis' at hand have not yet touched your
life, but the time is shortly to come. Recent NASA reports of a 60%
loss of ozone over the arctic provide an explanation for increased
severity in the worlds weather patterns which has only begun to affect
us whether directly or indirectly. The social, political and economic
implications are difficult to imagine as our ozone layer continues to
thin, forests disappear and desertization is occurring at an alarming
rate.
BAMBOO HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY...
The earth desperately needs the attention and action of us all or our
children's children will surely not have a world fit to live in. 
There is no one solution but amazingly, the simple bamboo plant can
make a dramatic positive impact in many areas. It is our goal to
inform and raise awareness about "Bamboo, People and the Environment"
and provide the tools and information to then respond in one's own way
in their own world. Every action counts, every person counts...

ENDURING THROUGH TIME...
Thomas Edison successfully used a carbonized bamboo filament in his
experiment with the first light bulb. This light bulb still burns
today in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. He also used a
bamboo as  rebar for the reinforcement of his swimming pool. To this
day, the pool has never leaked. An unrivaled utility, (One resource
book lists over 5,000 uses including paper, scaffolding, diesel fuel,
airplane "skins", desalination filters, aphrodisiacs, musical
instruments, medicine, food and was Alexander Graham Bell's first
phonograph needle

SURVIVING THROUGH HARDSHIP...
Amidst death and destruction, bamboo survived the Hiroshima atomic
blast closer to ground zero than any other living thing and provided
the first re-greening in Hiroshima after the  blast in 1945.

GROWING WITH STRENGTH AND SPEED...
With a tensile strength superior to mild steel (withstands up to
52,000 Pounds of pressure psi) and a weight-to-strength ratio
surpassing that of graphite, bamboo is the strongest growing woody
plant on earth with one of the widest ranging habitats of more than
1500 species thriving in diverse terrain from sea level to 12,000 feet
on every continent but the poles.  It also grows the fastest: clocked
shooting skyward at 2 inches an hour. Some species grow one and a half
meters a day.

BAMBOO PROTECTS THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE AIR WE BREATHE...
Bamboo is the fastest growing canopy for the regreening of degraded
lands, and its stands release 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands
of trees. Some bamboo even sequester up to 12 tons of carbon dioxide
from the air per hectare. Bamboo can also lower light intensity and
protects against ultraviolet rays. Traditional belief holds that being
in a bamboo grove - the favorite dwelling place of Buddha - restores
calmness to emotions and stimulates creativity.

Carbon Sequestration Information 
Net production and carbon cycling in a bamboo Phyllostachys  
pubescens stand. 
AU: Isagi-Y; Kawahara-T; Kamo-K; Ito-H 
AD: Kansai Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research  
Institute, Momoyama, Fushimi, Kyoto 612, Japan. 
SO: Plant-Ecology. 1997, 130: 1, 41-52; 48 ref. 
PY: 1997 
LA: English 
AB: Phyllostachys pubescens is one of the largest bamboo species  
with a leptomorphic (a type of rhizomatous system with solitary culms
scattered rather evenly) root system in the world. The species  
originates in China and has been naturalized in neighbouring  
countries. It was introduced in 1746 into Japan because of the  
economic value of the young sprouts and culm woods. It escaped from
the planted areas and expanded by invading the native vegetation. In
order to clarify the basic ecological characteristics of the species,
carbon fixation and cycling were determined in a stand of 
Phyllostachys pubescens in Kyoto Prefecture. The standing culm 
density and average DBH (diameter at breast height) in 1991 were 7100
ha-1 and 11.3 cm, respectively. The above-ground biomass was 116.5 t
ha-1 for culms, 15.5 t ha-1 for branches, 5.9 t ha-1 for leaves and
137.9 t ha-1 in total. The total above-ground biomass is one of the
largest among the world's bamboo communities. The biomass of rhizomes
and fine roots was 16.7 t ha-1 and 27.9 t ha-1, respectively. Annual
soil respiration was 52.3 t CO2 ha-1, the highest among those 
determined in Japan. The gross annual production was high, at 32.8 t 
C ha-1, and allocation of annual gross production to the root system 
was also high at 11 t C ha-1 - 34% of gross production, and 46% of 
the fluxes out of the leaves. This pattern of allocation results in a 
net annual above-ground production of 18.1 t ha-1, which is within 
the average range of productivity of forests under similar climatic 
conditions. The correspondence of the allocation pattern of the
species with its successful range expansion is discussed.
DE: asexual-reproduction; biological-production; biomass-production;
carbon-cycle; bamboos-; nutrients-; distribution-; carbon-;
photosynthesis-; stand-characteristics; biomass-; cycling-

AN: 950608033 
TI: Carbon stock and cycling in a bamboo Phyllostachys  bambusoides
stand.
AU: Isagi-Y 
AD: Laboratory of Silviculture, Kansai Research Center, Forestry  
and Forest Products Research Institute, Kyoto 612, Japan. 
SO: Ecological-Research. 1994, 9: 1, 47-55; 42 ref. 
PY: 1994 
LA: English 
AB: Gross production and carbon cycling in a Phyllostachys  
bambusoides stand in Kyoto Prefecture, central Japan, were  
determined, and then a compartment model showing the carbon stock and
cycling within the ecosystem was developed. Aboveground carbon stock
was 52.3 t/ha, increasing at an annual rate of 3.6 t/ha. Belowground
carbon stock was 20.8 t/ha in the root system and 92.0 t/ha in the
soil. Aboveground annual net C production was 11.2 t/ha. Belowground
annual net C production was crudely estimated at 4.5 t/ha. Gross 
annual production was estimated at 41.8 t/ha by summing the amount of 
outflow to the environment and the increment in biomass. Leaves 
consumed 13.7 t C/ha per year by respiration; the rest (41.8 - 13.7 = 
28.1 t C/ha per year) was surplus production of leaves and flowed 
into the other compartments. Annual amounts of construction and 
maintenance respiration of aboveground compartments were 3.4 and 18.5 
t/ha, respectively. The annual amount of soil respiration was 11.2 
t/ha. Soil respiration levels of 4.3 and 3.1 t C/ha per year were 
estimated for the flow of root respiration and root detritus. The 
proportion of net to gross production was 37%, which fell within the 
range of young and mature forests. A shorter life span of culms, 
compared to tree trunks, resulted in smaller biomass accumulation 
ratio (biomass/net production) in the ecosystem, of 4.66.
DE: bamboos-; respiration-; biomass-; carbon-; models-; carbon- 
cycle; biomass-production; simulation-; cycling- 
To find out the latest information on global warming, click here

EROSION CONTROL ...
A peerless erosion control agent,. it's net like root system create an
effective mechanism for watershed protection, stitching the soil
together along fragile riverbanks, deforested areas, and in places
prone to earthquakes and mud slides. Because of their wide-spreading
root system, uniquely shaped leaves, and dense litter on the forest
floor, the sum of stem flow rate and canopy intercept of bamboo is 25%
which means that bamboo greatly reduces rain run off, preventing
massive soil erosion and keeping up to twice as much water in the
watershed. Bamboo is a pioneering plant and can be grown in soil
damaged by overgrazing and poor agricultural techniques.  Unlike with
most trees proper harvesting does not kill the bamboo plant so topsoil
is held in place.

SAVING RAINFORESTS ...
Bamboo is one of the strongest building materials. Bamboo's tensile
strength is 28,000 pounds per square inch versus 23,000 pounds per
square inch for steel. In the tropics it is possible to plant and
'grow your own home;. in Costa Rica, 1000 houses of bamboo are built
annually with material coming only from a 60 hectare bamboo
plantation. If an equivalent project used timber, it would require 500
hectares of our diminishing tropical rainforests. Using bamboo to
replace timber saves the rainforests. With a 10-30% annual increase in
biomass versus 2 to 5% for trees, bamboo creates greater yields of raw
material for use. One clump can produce 200 poles in the three to five
years.   Bamboo  generates a crop every year.

A RENEWABLE RESOURCE ...
Bamboo is a high-yield renewable resource: "Ply boo" is now being used
for wall paneling and floor tiles; bamboo pulp for paper-making;
briquettes for fuel, raw material for housing construction; and rebar
for reinforced concrete beams. There are 1500 species of bamboo on the
earth. This diversity makes bamboo adaptable to many environments. It
can be harvested in 3-5 years versus 10-20 years for most softwoods.
Bamboo tolerates extremes of precipitation, from 30-250 inches of
annual rainfall.

HOUSING ... 
Bamboo related industries already provide income, food, and housing to
over 2.2 billion people worldwide. There is a 3-5 year return on
investment for a new bamboo plantation versus 8-10 years for rattan.
The governments of India and China, with 15 million hectares of bamboo
reserves collectively, are poised to focus attention on the economic
factors of bamboo and its protection. In Limon, Costa Rica, only
bamboo houses from the national Bamboo Project stood after their
violent earthquake in 1992. Flexible and lightweight, bamboo enables
structures to "dance" in earthquakes.  Go to the "Comparative Strength
of Bamboo or Grow Your Own House  page.
Just Available ! Simon Velez's new book "Grow Your Own House" Click
HERE to order.

FOOD ...
Bamboo shoots provide nutrition for millions of people worldwide. In
Japan, the antioxidant properties of pulverized bamboo skin can
prevent bacterial growth, and it is used as a natural food
preservative. Bamboo :litter: make fodder for animas and food for
fish. Taiwan alone consumes 80,000 tons of bamboo shoots annually,
constituting a $50 million industry.
`Bamboo leaves are normally utilized as fodder during scarcity. Young
bamboo leaves and twigs are a favorite meal for elephants and the
Panda. D. strictus leaves have (on dry matter basis) crude
protein,15.09; crude fiber,23.15; ether extract 1.43; ash 18.03;
phosphorus-170 and calcium -1550 mg/100g respectively. Their
digestible crude protein
and total digestible nutrient contents are 93.34 and 48.9%
respectively. The leaves of B.arundinacea have crude protein
18.64;crude
fiber, 24.1; ether extract 4.1; N- free extract 41.4; ash-11.75%;
phosphorus-170 mg and calcium 56mg/100g respectively. The digestible
crude protein and total digestible nutrient contents are 13.5 and
46.5% respectively. The protein contained methionine and lysine.
Copper and zinc are also found. The nutrient contents differed
significantly in samples collected from high altitudes.
For B.vulgaris the figures are crude protein,10.1;crude fiber 21.7;
ether extract, 2.5 and ash, 21.3%; phosphorus-86,iron-13.4,vitamin B1,
0.1;vitamin B2- 2.54, and carotene 12.3 mg/100g respectively. The meal
is used as a supplement to vitamin A deficient diets for chicks '
For further details contact either the Bamboo Information Center in
India -at KFRI -Tropical species, or The Bamboo Information Center in
China-at CAF,Beijing - Temperate species.

AN ANCIENT MEDICINE ... 
Bamboo has for centuries been used in Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese
herbal medicine . Tabasheer, the powdered, hardened secretion from
bamboo is used internally to treat asthma, coughs and can be used as
an aphrodisiac. In China, ingredients from the root of the black
bamboo help treat kidney disease. Roots and leaves have also been used
to treat venereal disease and cancer. Sap is said to reduce fever, and
ash will cure prickly heat. A village in Indonesia reports that the
water form within the culm is used to treat broken bones effectively
and that the tabasheer is used to promote fertility in their cows.
Current research points to bamboo's potential in a number of medicinal
uses.

A LANDSCAPE DESIGN ELEMENT & WASTE WATER SYSTEM ...
Bamboo is an exquisite component of landscape design. For the human
environment bamboo provides shade, wind break, acoustical barriers,
and aesthetic beauty.
"The Bamboo Forest is an ecological wastewater utilization system that
essentially grows away, waste, producing a marketable crop in the
process. Comprised of a subsurface evaporation-transpiration bed
planted with bamboo and other rapid-growing, non-invasive plants, the
system is engineered to provide an aerobic rhizosphere (the home of
living organisms in the root system), in which damaging polluting
components are transformed into plant nutrients" Go to the Discover
magazine article on Bamboo used to treat waste water!

INTEGRALLY INVOLVED IN CULTURE AND THE ARTS ... 
Bamboo is a mystical plant: a symbol of strength, flexibility,
tenacity, and endurance. Throughout Asia, bamboo has for centuries
been integral to religious ceremonies, art, music, and daily life. It
can be found in the paper, the brush, and the inspiration for poems
and paintings. Some of the earliest historical records form the 2nd
century B.C. were written on green bamboo strips.
As evidenced by all of the above qualities, bamboo rightfully deserves
its nickname, "the miracle plant." The EBF in Indonesia and Holland
and the IBF in Hawaii strive to promote the use of bamboo and educate
others about the greatly misunderstood and underutilized benefits of
using and preserving this plant. One of the main ways in which we hope
to accomplish this is through our educational and agro forestry
programs worldwide, our consultant services and by your continued
participation and support.