Northeast
India being situated in the transition zone of Indian,
Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese biogeographic regions harbour a rich biological diversity,
which is a well known fact. This is also a transition zone between the low
lying Indian Peninsula
and highlands of Himalayan
Mountain which also makes
it an abode of diverse flora and fauna. Wide range of physiographic and ecoclimatic
conditions have contributed to the region being recognized as an integral part
of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot.
Bamboo
is a dominant species among the spectacular floral diversity of the region and
also is a part and parcel of the region’s culture. Out of 136 species of
bamboos found in India, 63
species in 22 genera are found in Northeast India
of which 25 species of bamboo are considered to be rare. The different species
of bamboo available in the region are mainly from the genera Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Dinocloa, Phyllostachys,
Schizostachyum etc. The most familiar species includes – Bhaluka, Jati, Kolia, Mokal, Nol, Dolo,
Bijuli, Deo, Betua, Nangal, Bhaluki Mokal, Betua, Beji, Kako, Rupahi, Bajal,
Lota and many others.
Bamboo
is known to have an unrivaled utility with its use in more than hundreds of
different purposes. People in the region heavily depend on bamboos for various
domestic and agricultural purposes. A
range of handicraft materials are prepared from specific bamboos usually cultivated
by the people In recent times bamboos have been identified as a valuable
industrial raw material substituting wood products and having potential for
augmenting the economy. Their utility as edible shoots is also being exploited
for setting up of industrial ventures. But, what is most important about this
species is its environmental benignness, being a potentially renewable resource.
This species can rightly be termed as ‘green gold’ owing to some tremendous
potential of this species which is yet to be discovered completely and used.
Being one of the most productive and fastest growing
species, Bamboo can grow sometimes up to 1.2 m a day and thus is a good storage
of carbon dioxide. Its biomass production and carbon assimilation may be 7-30%
higher than that of fast growing woody species according to researches
conducted. This fast growing character can also be exploited to a large extent
by using the species for re-greening of degradable lands. The typical root
system of the plant also makes it an agent of erosion control and watershed
protection. It also reduces heavy run off of rain water via its high litter
fall and thus add to recharge of ground water table. Extensive use of bamboo
for construction purposes may result in saving our gradually declining forest
resources which is of utmost importance.
Climate change being the most talked over subject of the
present century across the world, certainly needs particular attention for its
mitigation. One of the basic causes of increasing atmospheric temperature of
the globe is the ever rising concentration of green house gases of which carbon
dioxide is an important one. A world-wide campaign has been started off late
after the ‘Kyoto Protocol’ to reduce the emission of this gas in order to
reduce the global warming and associated climate change. And the astonishing
and yet less discussed fact is that bamboo is a good sink of this gas. It can
also release 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees. Reports have also
been there that bamboo can sequester up to 12 tons of carbon from air per
hectare which is definitely a huge potential. Again, more than 90% of Bamboo
carbon can be sequestered in a range of durable products which are obviously
long lasting and can store carbon for a long term. It can also be used as an
alternative of fossil fuel which is another ‘green factor’ associated with this
miracle plant.
With the concept of ‘Carbon Credit’ getting importance
across the world day by day, it has become important that we discover newer
means of reducing carbon dioxide emission. And in this case, north east has a
good potential to earn carbon credit, if at all we can utilize the underlying
ability of species like bamboo in order to sequester carbon. However, research
is yet to gain momentum to discover ways of using the species for the same. So,
a great responsibility lies on the part of the scientific community of the
region as well as the government in this regard so that our green gold can be
converted to a more golden resource for the region.
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