Bamboo for Conservation of Endangered Species

Contents• 1. Significance of Bamboo Biodiversity

• 2. Bamboo for Biodiversity Conservation

• 3. Bamboo For Conservation of Endangered Species

1. Significance of Bamboo Biodiversity

Bamboo biodiversity itself play a key role in construction of habitat and providing food for many various species for its numerous species and wide geographical distrubition.

世界竹类分布Geograph ica l d is t r ibu t ion o f the w oody bamboos

主要分布区：亚洲、非洲、美洲和澳洲的热带、亚热带地区

Distribution：Tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, America and Australia

There are 70 genera and more than 1600 species of bamboo in the world，covering a total area of over 30 million hectares and widely distributed between 46°N and 47° S in the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of all continents except Europe.

Morphology and Habit Diversity of bamboo

习性 Habit：

乔木 Arbor-like——

毛竹Phyllostachys edulis牡竹属 Dendrocalamus，巨竹属 Gigantochloa等

灌木 Shrub-like——玉山竹属 Yushania

草本 Herbaceous-like——多集中分布在南美洲

藤本 vine-like—— in tropic Asia 总序竹属 Racemobambos，梨藤竹属 Melocalamus等

附生 Epiphytic ——贡山竹属 Gaoligongshania

云南玉竹（Yushania yunnanensis）

The b iges t and sma l les t bamboo

菲白竹（Pleioblastus rigentiostriatus f.

albostriata

翠竹（Sasa pygmaea)

巨龙竹（Dendrocalamus sinicus

攀 援 竹 林 景 观Tr o p i c a l c l i m b i n g b a m b o o f o r e s t s

贡山竹 Gaoligongshania megathyrsaA shrub-like bamboo, distributed over the area from Gaoligongshan Mountain to Dulong River basin. It is the only one epiphytic bamboo species.

竹林景观多样性Landscape divers i ty of bamboo forests

• 高山寒温性竹林景观Alpine cold Bamboo forest（Fargesia

Yushania 箭竹、玉山竹林景观）

• 暖温性竹林Temperate Bamboo forest (方竹、筇竹林景观

Chimonobabusa Qiongzhuea ）

• 热性大型丛生竹林景观Big tropical bamoo forest （ 巨龙竹林景观

Dendocalamus ）

• 攀援性竹林景观 Rattan-like bamboo forest（梨藤竹林景观

Melocalamus）

• 林下竹子层片景观Shrub-like Layer bamboo forest under arbor

forest (chimonobambusa Fargesia )

竹林景观Environmental uses of bamboo forest

Nature Trop ica l Bamboo Fores t in South Yunnan and Nor th Vie tnam天然沙罗竹竹林具有丰富的层次

沙罗单竹

高山寒温性竹林景观 A l p i n e c o l d Te m p e r a t e b a m b o o f o r e s t s

Distinct biological characteristics of various bamboo species and bamboo forest (plantation) landscape support biodiversity worldwidely.

2. Bamboo for Biodiversity Conservation

Various bamboo species facilitate coexistence of different plant species

......The species of the three bamboo forests were significantly different at 0.05 levels, and so did the importance value of dominant species of arbor layer, the quantity of shrub layer and the coverage of herb layer. The comparability index (β-diversity) was very small among the three bamboo forests, mainly due to different plant species compositions and community structures (P<0.05). These differences can be explained by the biological characteristics of different bamboo species, their altitudinal distributions and growth phases......

Diversity of Plant Community of Giant Panda’s Habitat in the Wolong Nature Reserve Ⅴ: Species Diversity in Different Bamboo ForestsChinese Journal Applied Environmental Biology 2009，15 ( 2 ): 180~187

For animal diversity......With primary productivity as high as that of many fo rests, bamboo provides support to many species of wildlife.Some of these , such as elephants (Elephas maximus), the wild cattle (Bos gaurus and B .javanicus), and various species of deer (Cervidae)and primates (including macaques Macaca and leaf-monkeys Presbytis), pigs (Suidae), rats and mice (M uridae), porcu- pines (Hystricidae), and squirrels (Sciuridae)are incidental feeders in southeast Asian bamboos (Lekagul and M cNeely , 1977)......

Biodiversity and bamboo genetic resources in Asia:in situ , community-based and ex situ approaches to conservation CHINESE BIODIVERSITY 7(1):38～ 51, February , 1999

For animal diversity-Deers

For animal diversity-Pigs

For animal diversity-leaf-monkeys(Presbytis）

For aminal diversity-Bamboo Rats

Maintaining Insect diversity-Leafhoppers

Through field collection and the system of collection specimens, a total of identified 60 genera and 117 species of bamboo-feeding leafhoppers in southwest China, including 3 new genera, 9 species, first discovered three species of bamboo-feedig leafhoppers.

The species diversity and DNA barcoding ofbamboo-feeding leafhoppers from Southwest ChinaMaster Dissertation from Guizhou University, 2018

Maintaining Soil Animal diversity

The community structure of soil animals was studied in bamboo stands of Western Zhejiang with astratified analysis. Results revealed 24 328 soil animals in total belonging to 5 phylum，11 classes，and 26 orders with the majority being Acarina and Collembola. The biodiversity level of bamboo stands was between plantations and natural forests.

Community structure and biodiversity of soil animals in bamboo stands of Lin’an， ZhejiangJournal of Zhejiang A ＆ F University 2012， 29（4）： 581 - 587

For microbial diversity-Diazotroph

...... indicated that the endophytic diazotrophs (Bambusa blumeana)showed great diversity and belonged to Azospirillum (α-proteobacteria), Escherichia and Pseudomonas (γ-proteobacteria ) and Aquaspirillum (β-proteobacteria).

Diversity of Endophytic Diazotrophs Isolated from Bambusa blumeana in Guangdong ProvinceJournal of Agricultural Biotechnology 2007,15 (2): 290~294

For microbial diversity-Bacteria in rhizome soil

.....Phylogenetic analysis based on the partial 16S rDNA sequences indicated that the 50 strains were clustered into ten genera......, ......The result shows that the bacterial population diversity is abundant in Bashania fangiana rhizosphere soil.

Culturable bacterial diversity in rhizosphere of Bashania fangianaBiodiversity Science 2008, 16 (1): 91–95

3. Bamboo for Conservation of Endangered Species

Bamboo and Mountain Gorilla

Mountain Gorilla, less than 1000, is a critical endangered subspecies of Gorilla, which lives in Bwindi ImpenetrableNational Park, Uganda (330 km2) and the VirungaMassif (450 km2) of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Grueter et al. American Journal of Primatology, 2013

Bamboo and Bamboo Lemur(Hapalemur and Prolemur)

Bamboo lemurs are definitely bamboo specilists of consuming different parts of bamboo by golden bamboo lemur, gentle bamboo lemur and greater bamboo lemur respectively.

Cephalostachyum and Bambusa , Cathariostachys spp do matter, Valiha diffusa (Poaceae), a large-culmed lowland bamboo endemic to Madagascar is also important food for greater bamboo lemur.

Bamboo and Bamboo Lemur(Hapalemur and Prolemur)

Mechanically demanding and nutritionallypoor bamboo culm is eaten only duringthe dry season by great bamboo lemur (P. simus). However, Climate change isprojected to threaten many greaterbamboo lemur populations by prolongingdry-season feeding.

Study results showed here refer to research papters from Glander. et al. American Journal of Primatology, 1989, Rakotonirina et al. Folia Primatologica, 2011, Eronen et al. Current Biology, 2017

Bamboo and Giant Panda

Giant Panda is undoubtly a widelife star and well known globally.

Generally, giant panda is accepted bamboo specialist.

Bamboo and Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)Original distribution:Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal

Yonzon et al. Biological Conservation,1991

In Langtang National Park, Nepal, red pandas were habitat specialists that preferred fir-jhapra bamboo forests between 2800 and 3900 m, and leaves of a single bamboo species, jhapra (probably Himalayacalamus falconeri), comprised 54-100% of the diet seasonally.

Bamboo and Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)

......The results indicated that the key factors notably influenced on habitat selection were the water source , bamboo basal diameterand shrub density......

Habitat Selection by Red Pandas in Fengtongzhai NaturalReserveActa Theriologica Sinica 2004, Vol.24 , No.3

Bamboo and Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)

In Gaoligong Mountains area, red panda's staple food bamboo covered seven species, one belonging to Chimonobambusa, the other six species belonging to Fargesia.

Preliminary Studies on Species and Distribution of Ｒed Panda's Staple Food Bamboo in Gaoligong Mountains, Journal of Bamboo Ｒesearch, 2019，38( 1) : 14-17

Bamboo and Takin (Budorcas taxicolor)

Kang et al. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2018

Takin at Wanglang Nature Reserve (China) usually used the habitats with greater bamboo coverage and bamboo density.

Bamboo and Takin (Budorcas taxicolor)

Forest which consists of Fagesia spp and conifer species is critical habitat for takin in winter and spring at Cibagou Nature Reserve of Tibet, China.

Wu, et al. Acta Theriologica S inica, 2006

Bamboo for Elephants

......which showed that the selection of environmental variables by the elephants was non-random，though they had certain tolerance and adaptability to the environment. The primary factor affecting habitat quality was the vegetation，specifically the bamboo forest，indicating that food is the most important factor for elephants in selecting suitable habitat......

Evaluation of habitat for Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ) in Xishuangbanna，Yunnan，ChinaActa Theriologica Sinica 2015，35 ( 1) : 1 － 13

Bamboo for Elephants

Bamboo for Yunnan snub-nosed monkey ( Ｒhinopithecus bieti)

Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (also called Black and white snub-nosed monkey) is the primate species that distributes at the alpine area with highest elevation comparing with the other primate species.

Bamboo for Yunnan snub-nosed monkey ( Ｒhinopithecus bieti)

There are 13 bamboo species distributed in this monkey species' habitat. They are listed below: 空心箭竹 ( Fargesia edulis) 、马 斯 箭 竹 ( Fargesia dura ) 、薄 壁 箭 竹( Fargesia tenuiligea) 、云龙箭竹 ( Fargesia papyrif- era) 、曲 竿 箭 竹 ( Fargesia subflexuosa ) 、伞 把 竹( Fargesia utilis) 、凋叶箭竹 ( Fargesia frigida) 、黑穗箭竹 ( Fargesia melanos) 、德 钦 箭 竹 ( Fargesia sylvestris) 、大姚箭竹 ( Fargesia mairei) 、玉龙山箭竹 ( Fargesi Yulongshanensis) 、实 竹 ( Qiongzhuea rigidula) 落叶箭竹 ( Fargesia pallens)

Chemical analysis of leaves of Fargesia edulis and Fargesia dura fed on by black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys in Mt. Lasha，Yunnan，ChinaActa Theriologica Sinica 2019，39 ( 1) : 94 － 102

Conserving the wildlife's habitat of endangered species should be at the first place, which comprises food, maybe bamboo included, and space for their activity.

Global Change has effects on almost every species on the Earth. How various bamboo species, especially food sources of endangered species, respond to global change, and how to mitigate the effects should be taken seriously into account.

Suggestion on conservation of endangered species from bamboo's ‘eyes’