International Bamboo and Rattan Organization

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Can native clonal moso bamboo encroach on adjacent natural forest without human intervention?

Articles

Journal/Conference:

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

Language:

English

Author:

Bai Shangbin; Wang Yixiang; Conant Richard T.; Wang Nan; Fang Feiyan; Chen Juan

Experts:

Zhou Guomo; Xu Yong

Year:

2016

Volume:

6

Pages:

31504

Keywords:

EXOTIC PLANT INVASIONS; DIVERSITY; DYNAMICS

Native species are generally thought not to encroach on adjacent natural forest without human intervention. However, the phenomenon that native moso bamboo may encroach on surrounding natural forests by itself occurred in China. To certificate this encroaching process, we employed the transition front approach to monitor the native moso bamboo population dynamics in native Chinese fir and evergreen broadleaved forest bordering moso bamboo forest in Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve during the period between 2005 and 2014. The results showed that the bamboo front moved toward the Chinese fir/evergreen broadleaved stand with the new bamboo produced yearly. Moso bamboo encroached at a rate of 1.28 m yr(-1) in Chinese fir forest and 1.04 m yr(-1) in evergreen broadleaved forest, and produced 533/437 new culms hm(-2) yr(-1) in the encroaching natural Chinese fir/evergreen broadleaved forest. Moso bamboo coverage was increasing while adjacent natural forest area decreasing continuously. These results indicate that native moso bamboo was encroaching adjacent natural forest gradually without human intervention. It should be considered to try to create a management regime that humans could selectively remove culms to decrease encroachment.