WBC-VIII-Vol.4 – Resources – Forestry, Plantations and ... - BambuSC

Succession of Bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb. et Zuc.)
Riparian Forest Vegetation after Gregarious Flowering
Abstract
Shibata, Shozo
Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Japan
Ecological research of Phyllostachys bambusoides riparian forest was practiced for 16 years from about 20 years
after gregarious flowering. As a result it was indicated that the recovering vigorousness of P. bambusoides after
flowering was continued at least for 25 years. Tree species were suppressed by bamboo again during the
research. The bamboo forest vegetation is considered to need more than 25 years after bamboo flowering to
stable the vegetation condition. Moreover, at the stable and unmanaged P. bambusoides forests, it is shown that
a large amount of new culms is produced on every two or three years, and the culms of the following year are
comparatively small and die young.
Introduction
In Japan, most of Phyllostachys bambusoides Siebold et Zuccarini flowered gregariously and died from the end
of 1960’s to the beginning of 1970’s (Kasahara 1971). In this gregarious flowering, it was recorded that little
seeds were produced and almost all the P. bambusoides populations regenerated by unique behavior. Although
this report is not aimed to notice this regeneration system, this was asexual reproduction by the sprouting of next
generation bamboo shoots from new rhizomes.
This flowering gave severe damages to the bamboo industries in Japan. After that, most of the bamboo
industries abandoned to get bamboo timbers from their local areas. Notwithstanding most P. bambusoides
forests recovered in a following decade, the new system to get bamboo timbers was not restored to its former
state. At the same time, just after the flowering, many bamboo forests were converted to the other land uses. To
obtain the materials for bamboo industries, much of them were not harvested in local areas and are purchased
not only from other domestic areas but also from foreign countries. At present time, many recovering P.
bambusoides forests in Japan are under unmanaged condition and scarce of constant management. As a result,
in many bamboo forests the density control is not practiced, therefore, the quality of the produced bamboo
timber from such kind of bamboo forests is very low.
Here, it is reported the results of the ecological research for 16 years at the unmanaged P. bambusoides riparian
forest, which is very common condition in Japan now, and of the analyses of the vegetation succession in mixed
bamboo forest with broad-leaved trees following to the recovery of bamboo after flowering.
VIII World Bamboo Congress Proceedings Vol 4-139