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THE
FASTEST GROWING WOODY PLANT ON THIS PLANET
It grows one third faster than the fastest growing tree.
Some species can grow up to 1 meter per day. One can
almost "watch grow". Size ranges from miniature to towering
culms of 60 meters or 180 feet.
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PRODUCING
4 TO 5 TIMES MORE BIO-MASS THAN THE TREES FELLED FOR
WOOD PRODUCTION
Bamboo
is ready for harvesting within 3 to 5 years versus Oak,
Cherry, Maple and exquisite rain forest hardwoods that
in some cases take more than 100 years to grow to maturity.
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BAMBOO
IS GIANT GRASS
Amazingly
versatile with a short growth cycle. There are over
1000 species of bamboo on the earth. The diversity makes
bamboo adaptable to many environments. Bamboo tolerates
extremes of precipitation, from 30-250 inches of rainfall.
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BAMBOO
IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST BUILDING MATERIALS IN THE WORLD
Bamboo's
tensile strength is 28,000 per square inch versus 23,000
for steel. |
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A
CRITICAL ELEMENT IN THE BALANCE OF OXYGEN/CARBON DIOXIDE
IN THE ATMOSPHERE
Bamboo
is the fastest growing canopy for the re-greening of
degraded areas and generates more oxygen than equivalent
stand of trees.
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A
SOIL CONSERVATION TOOL
It's
anti-erosion properties create an effective watershed,
stitching the soil together along fragile areas.
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FIRST
RE-GREENING IN HIROSHIMA AFTER THE ATOMIC BLAST IN 1945 |
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A
CRITICAL ELEMENT OF THE ECONOMY
Bamboo
and its related industries already provide income, food
and housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide. There
is a 3-5 years return on investment for a new bamboo
plantation versus 8-10 years for rattan.
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A
RENEWABLE RESOURCE FOR AGRO FORESTRY PRODUCTS
Bamboo
is a high-yield renewable natural resource, ply bamboo
is now being used for wall paneling, floor tiles; bamboo
pulp for paper making; briquettes for fuel; raw material
for housing construction; and rebar for reinforced concrete
beams. |
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AN
ESSENTIAL STRUCTURE MATERIAL IN EARTHQUAKE ARCHITECTURE
In
Limon, Costa Rica, only the Bamboo houses from the National
Bamboo Project stood after the violent earthquake in
1992.
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