Hindawi
International Journal of Forestry Research
Volume 2021, Article ID 8835673, 23 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8835673
Review Article
A Review on Bamboo Resource in the African Region: A Call for
Special Focus and Action
Tinsae Bahru
1
2
1
and Yulong Ding2
Central Ethiopia Environment and Forest Research Center (CEE-FRC), P.O. Box 33042, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Correspondence should be addressed to Tinsae Bahru; batinsae@gmail.com
Received 3 September 2020; Revised 16 February 2021; Accepted 25 February 2021; Published 8 March 2021
Academic Editor: Ahmad A. Omar
Copyright © 2021 Tinsae Bahru and Yulong Ding. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
The African region has untapped bamboo resource potential with immense socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological significances.
Despite the long history of bamboo in the region, its contribution is at the infant stage. Therefore, the present study aimed at
reviewing the existing literature supported by research experience on bamboo resource in the region. The review process mainly
focused on four main specific objectives. These include (1) review extensively African countries that owned the resource and
identify the species in each country, (2) identify and document species, generic, and taxonomic tribes of each bamboo species, (3)
assess and report bamboo area coverage from available nations, and (4) highlight the existing experiences of special opportunities,
challenges, and successful achievements on bamboo resource in representative African countries. The review process found out
that a total of 4.56 million ha total bamboo area and 115 bamboo species are reported from 48 African countries. Hence, the
African region shares 12.3% of the global bamboo resource and contributed 7.3% of the total bamboo species. Of this, 89.6% of the
region is endowed with indigenous bamboo species. Among indigenous species, O. abyssinica is the most widely distributed in 38
African countries. Madagascar ranked first with 37 indigenous species, while Ethiopia led by 25 introduced bamboo species.
Nowadays, Ethiopia has 1.44 million ha total indigenous bamboo area coverage, which accounted for 31.6% of the African region
and 3.89% of the world total. Therefore, more detail and comprehensive research on species taxonomy, resource base inventory,
silvicultural applications, and socioeconomic study is recommended.
1. Global Bamboo Resource Overview
Bamboo belongs to the subfamily Bambusoideae and family
Gramineae or Poaceae [1–3]. Various sources speculated the
origin of bamboo in the evolutionary line of plant kingdom.
However, Clark estimated that bamboo origin was traced
back probably some 30–40 million years ago [4]. It is one of
the most important forest resources with immense socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological significances since ancient times. For instance, indigenous bamboo resource in
Ethiopia has been used for different traditional uses including house construction, fencing, production of handicrafts and other household utensils, animal feed, edible
shoots for human consumption, and many other uses. In the
human history, bamboo cultivation and utilization in
ancient China traced back to about 6000 years [5]. As early as
3000 years before, edible bamboo shoot has been used as a
popular and delicious dish in China [6]. Nowadays, there are
1575 bamboo species [1] belonging to about 90 genera across
the world [4, 7]. The bamboo resource further covers a total
area of about 37 million ha worldwide or around 1% of the
global forest resource [7]. Its annual production also
accounted for more than 20 million tons [8] and contributed
$60 billion to the global economy [9]. In relation to this,
bamboo resource is widely distributed around the world in
diverse climatic and ecological settings. Its range covers from
tropics, subtropics, and temperate to frigid zones [4, 10–12]
approximately in 50°N–47°S [4]. The altitudinal ranges also
vary from the sea level up to a higher elevation, i.e., 4500 m
above the sea level [1].
2
As a whole, the global distribution of bamboo resource
can be classified into four major geographic regions [10–12]
(Figure 1). These major bamboo regions comprise the AsiaPacific region with more than 900 species [10, 11], American
region with over 500 species [4], and the African region with
43 species [13–15]. The African region comprises the
mainland Africa and the associated islands surrounding the
continent including Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius,
Réunion, São Tomé and Prı́ncipe, and Seychelles. These
regions are specifically located at 51°N–42°S [12], 40°N–47°S
[10–12], and 16°N–22°S [10, 11, 16] in their respective orders.
By contrast, European, North American, and Australian
regions are emerged due to the introduction of many
bamboo species from Asia, Africa, and South America
mostly for gardening, ornamentals, and other uses [10–12].
In this insight, approximately 80% of the bamboo resource is found in the Asia-Pacific region [10, 11]. Of this,
more than 59% of the Asia-Pacific region [3, 10, 11] and
33.9% of the world bamboo species are found in China [1, 3].
Currently, 534 bamboo species that belong to 34 genera are
found in China [3] with the total area coverage of 7 million ha [11, 16]. In contrast, the African region has very little
bamboo resource in terms of species diversity and area
coverage almost entirely limited to tropical zones [4]. It
comprises 7% of the world bamboo resource with total area
coverage of over 2.8 million ha within six nations [7].
Therefore, it needs urgent call for special focus and action for
the sustainable development and promotion of bamboo
resource in the African region. This comprises (1) review
extensively African countries that owned the resource and
identify the species in each country by their scientific names,
(2) identify and document bamboo species including their
description and generic and taxonomic tribes of each
bamboo species, (3) assess and report bamboo area coverage
from African nations that have available information, and
(4) highlight special opportunities, challenges, and successful achievements on bamboo resource in representative
African countries.
2. Materials and Methods
A comprehensive and detail literature review was carried
out from 108 published and accessed bibliographical
sources. These included 54 scientific journals, 15 books, 19
official documents from various nations and/or organizations and working studies, 11 workshop proceedings,
manuals, and newspapers, 4 online accessed resources, and
5 academic theses. The review process encompassed both
African countries and islands surrounding the mainland
Africa. Consequently, the total area covered wider and
diverse geographical locations and settings, altitudinal
ranges, climatic conditions, and socioeconomic and cultural diversities and lifestyles. At the same time, the perception, experience, and knowledge of local people and
nations focus towards bamboo resource are considerably
varied. With this in mind, available data in each country
were reviewed in detail, bamboo species were identified,
and a species list was documented. Thereafter, the scientific
names and their synonymous if any were listed down and
International Journal of Forestry Research
particular references are cited. After that, the generic names
are identified and grouped under taxonomic tribes following different references. In the same way, regarding to
the total bamboo area coverage in the region, data from
available countries were extensively reviewed, and then, the
countries list, bamboo area, and bamboo area to forest area
coverage as well as percentage share are presented. The
existing practical experiences on widely distributed,
commonly used, and potentially high species are selected as
representative species and extensively reviewed. Last,
special opportunities, major challenges, and successful
achievements are assessed from typical countries so as to
strengthen the resource development and promotion in the
region.
3. Origin and Distribution of Bamboo
Resource in the African Region
Our extensive literature review showed that a total of 115
bamboo species are widely distributed among 48 countries
in the African region (Table 1). This accounted for 7.3% of
the global bamboo species and covered 82.8% of the African region. This covered vast areas which extend from
western coast at Senegal to the eastern part at Mauritius,
while it stretched from Morocco in the north to South
Africa in the southern part. Out of the indigenous bamboo
species, Oxytenanthera abyssinica is widely distributed
among 38 countries, while Olyra latifolia is found within 30
countries. These are followed by Oldeania alpina and
Oreobambos buchwaldii, which are further recorded among
13 and 10 African countries, respectively. In the same way,
5 countries have Guaduella oblonga, while Bambusa vulgaris, Guaduella densiflora, and Hickelia africana are
recorded among the 3 African countries, each. Regarding to
introduced bamboo species, Bambusa vulgaris is widely
distributed among 20 African countries, followed by
Dendrocalamus giganteus within 10 countries. Also,
D. asper and D. strictus are equally found in 6 countries,
each (Table 1).
In relation to bamboo genera, the genus Bambusa
contained 25 bamboo species, which accounted for 21.7% of
the total recorded species in the region (Table 2). This is
followed by the genus Nastus and Dendrocalamus with 12
and 11 bamboo species, respectively. Similarly, 6 bamboo
species are classified under the genus Guaduella, whereas 5
species are recorded under the genus Yushania. The genera
Cephalostachyum and Hickelia followed with 4 species, each.
In the same way, a total of 35 bamboo genera are
recorded in the African region, which are classified under
five taxonomic tribes (Table 3). Of these, the tribe Bambuseae comprised a total of 19 (54.3%) bamboo genera,
followed by Arundinarieae with 11 taxonomic genera. On
the other hand, three tribes, namely, Guaduelleae, Olyreae,
and Puelieae, contained one bamboo genera, each. In
contrast, there is no concrete information available to group
the remaining two bamboo genera to a given tribe and hence
requires a further taxonomic study. In line with this, tribe
Bambuseae is distributed among the 45 African nations and
Olyreae is distributed among 30 nations (Table 3).
International Journal of Forestry Research
3
Figure 1: Global bamboo resource distribution among the four major geographic regions (source: [12]).
Furthermore, comprehensive literature review confirmed that the distribution of bamboo resource in the
African region can be classified broadly into two parts. These
are the mainland Africa and the associated six islands
surrounding the continent (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, São Tomé and Prı́ncipe, and Seychelles). The
review process reported that mainland Africa has 83 bamboo
species belonging to 30 genera (Table 4). Out of these species,
20 bamboo species are indigenous (native) to the region. The
remaining 63 species are mainly introduced (exotic) from
other regions (Asia-Pacific, America, or Africa itself ). On the
other hand, the six islands comprise 50 species. Among
these, 40 bamboo species are indigenous, while 10 of them
are introduced from elsewhere. Therefore, majority of the
bamboo species (72.2%) are introduced to the mainland
Africa at various times. By contrast, more diverse indigenous
bamboo species (34.8%) are found within the six associated
islands. This clearly shows that the mainland Africa has less
rich and diverse indigenous compared to introduced
bamboo species.
In the same way, a total of up to 45 bamboo species are
reported from each country (Table 5). In terms of species
origin, bamboo species are classified as indigenous to Africa
or introduced from elsewhere. Among these, 22 countries
have only indigenous (native) bamboo species, 5 countries
have only introduced (exotic) species, while 21 countries
owned both species. This reflects that 89.6% of the region is
endowed with indigenous bamboo species. From indigenous
species, Madagascar ranked first with a total of 37 bamboo
species (refer Table 1), followed by Cameroon with 10
species (Table 1). This clearly shows that the species diversity
and distribution at Madagascar is much richer than the
mainland Africa [4, 12]. Ghana and Tanzania also comprise
8 and 6 species, respectively (Table 1). On the other hand,
Ethiopia ranked first with a total of 25 introduced bamboo
species, followed by Togo with 20 species. Ghana and Kenya
each contains with a total of 16 introduced species, whereas
Nigeria and Sudan follow with 12 and 10 bamboo species,
respectively.
4. Status and Potential of Bamboo Resource in
the African Region
The status and potential of bamboo resource in the African
region is reviewed from different sources. According to the
reports, the data are only available from 12 African countries. In this insight, 12.3% of the global bamboo resource is
contributed by the African region. This indicated that
bamboo development in the region is slightly improved as
compared to 7% of total bamboo resource reported by FAO
[7]. Ethiopia shares 31.55% of the total bamboo resource in
the African region, followed by Senegal (14.49%) and Ghana
(8.77%) (Table 6). Similarly, the bamboo to forest area
coverage accounted for 11.51%, 7.99%, and 4.28% in their
respective orders. However, the figure reported from Nigeria
(34.88%) is an overestimated data and hence not yet verified
[7]. By contrast, available data from Cameroon [23] and
Zimbabwe (FAO (2001) cited in FAO [7] are also incomplete
and do not represent the entire countries’ resource. But, the
intention to include these data is to show the resource
potential and thereby to give more focus to the region. In the
same way, the bamboo resource reported from other
countries in the region (Tables 1 and 2) is not well known
and estimated. Therefore, we concluded that due attention
should be given to the status and potential of bamboo resource in the African region.
5. Overview on Indigenous Bamboo
Species in Ethiopia
Out of the total recorded indigenous bamboo species in the
African region (60 species), two indigenous bamboo species
(O. abyssinica and O. alpina) are widely distributed and
commonly used in the region, and their origin also traced
4
International Journal of Forestry Research
Table 1: Origin and distribution of bamboo resource in the African region.
No. List of countries
1
Algeria
2
Angola
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Origin and distribution of bamboo resource in the African region
Indigenous (native) species
Introduced (exotic) species
Pseudosasa japonica
Guaduella densiflora, Guaduella
dichroa, Olyra latifolia, Oreobambos
buchwaldii, and Oxytenanthera
abyssinica.
Reference
INBAR [17]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], zhou [16], Inada and
Benin
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica.
Hall [20], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
Inada and Hall [20], INBAR
Burkina Faso
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica.
B. vulgaris
[17], Clayton et al. [19]
Phillips [2], Bystriakova et al.
Oldeania alpina, O. latifolia,
[18], Inada and Hall [20],
Burundi
O. buchwaldii, and O. abyssinica.
INBAR [17], Clayton et al. [19]
Phillips [2], Grimshaw [21],
G. densiflora, Guaduella humilis,
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
B. vulgaris (B. vulgaris var. vittata
Guaduella macrostachys, Guaduella
et al. [18], INBAR [22], Ingram
(yellow variety)), Ochlandra
marantifolia, Guaduella oblonga,
Cameroon
O. alpina, O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii, travancorica, and Phyllostachys aurea. et al. [23], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
O. abyssinica, and Puelia atractocarpa.
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
Central African
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica.
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
Republic
et al. [19]
KFRI [24], INBAR [17],
Chad
O. abyssinica
Clayton et al. [19]
Comoros
O. latifolia and Sirochloa parvifolia.
Ohrnberger [1], INBAR [17]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
G. oblonga, O. latifolia, and
B. vulgaris
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
Cote d’Ivoire
O. abyssinica.
et al. [19]
Phillips [2], Ohrnberger [1],
Democratic
Bystriakova et al. [18], Inada
O. alpina, O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii,
B. vulgaris and D. asper.
Republic of
and Hall [20], INBAR [17],
and O. abyssinica.
Congo
Clayton et al. [19]
Egypt
B. multiplex (B. nana) and B. vulgaris.
Moustafa et al. [25]
Equatorial
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica.
INBAR [17]
Guinea
Phillips [2], Ohrnberger [1],
Eritrea
O. abyssinica
Bystriakova et al. [18], Clayton
et al. [19]
B. balcooa, B. bambos, B. emeiensis,
B. multiplex, B. multiplex
՝Albovariegata,՛ B. oldhamii,
B. pachinensis, B. tulda, B. vulgaris
(B. vulgaris var. green (green variety),
B. vulgaris var. striata, and B. vulgaris
Phillips [2], Embaye [14],
var. vittata), D. asper, D. barbatus,
Ohrnberger [1], Embaye [13],
Gigantochloa felix, O. alpina,
D. brandisii, D. giganteus, D. hamiltonii, Fu et al. [11], Jiang and Liu [12],
Ethiopia
O. latifolia, and O. abyssinica.
D. latiflorus, D. membranaceus,
Chen et al. [10], Huojin [15],
D. peculiaris, Gigantochloa apus,
INBAR [17], Clayton et al. [19]
Gigantochloa atter, Gigantochloa
sumatra, Guadua amplexifolia, Guadua
angustifolia, Phyllostachys edulis,
Schizostachyum jaculans, and
Thyrsostachys siamensis.
G. densiflora, G. marantifolia, and
Ohrnberger [1]
Gabon
G. oblonga.
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
Gambia
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus
asper, and D. giganteus.
International Journal of Forestry Research
5
Table 1: Continued.
Origin and distribution of bamboo resource in the African region
Reference
Indigenous (native) species
Introduced (exotic) species
B. burmanica, B. heterostachya,
B. oldhamii, B. textilis, B. ventricosa,
B. bambos, B. multiplex,
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
B. pervariabilis, B. vulgaris (B. vulgaris
D. asper, D. barbatus, D. brandisii,
et al. [18], Inada and Hall [20],
D. giganteus, D. latiflorus,
var. green and B. vulgaris var. vittata),
Ghana
Appiah-Kubi et al. [26], INBAR
D. membranaceus, Gigantochloa
D. strictus, G. macrostachys, O. latifolia,
[27], Clayton et al. [19]
albociliata, G. angustifolia, Guadua
and O. abyssinica.
chacoensis, P. edulis, and T. siamensis.
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
G. oblonga, O. latifolia, and
B. vulgaris
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
Guinea
O. abyssinica.
et al. [19]
Guinea-Bissau
O. latifolia, and O. abyssinica
B. bambos, B. lako, B. nutans, B. tulda,
Kigomo and Kamiri [28],
B. vulgaris (B. vulgaris var. vittata),
Grimshaw [21], zhou [16], Fu
D. asper, D. brandisii, D. giganteus,
et al. [11], Jiang and Liu [12],
D. hamiltonii, D. membranaceus,
Hickelia africana, O. alpina, O. latifolia,
Kenya
Kigomo [29], Inada and Hall
D. strictus, O. abyssinica, P. edulis,
O. buchwaldii, and Pseudosasa amabilis
P. nigra var. henonis, Schizostachyum [20], KFRI [24], Chen et al. [10],
pergracile, Shibataea kumasaca, and INBAR [17], Clayton et al. [19]
T. siamensis.
O. abyssinica, Bergbambos tessellata,
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
Lesotho
and Thamnocalamus sp.
et al. [18], INBAR [17]
G. oblonga, O. latifolia, and
Ohrnberger [1], Inada and Hall
Liberia
O. abyssinica.
[20], INBAR [17]
Libya
B. vulgaris
Cathariostachys capitata,
Cathariostachys madagascariensis,
Cephalostachyum chapelieri,
Cephalostachyum perrieri,
Cephalostachyum sp., Cephalostachyum
viguieri, Decaryochloa diadelpha,
Hickelia alaotrensis, Hickelia
madagascariensis, Hickelia perrieri,
Hitchcockella baronii, Nastus
ambrensis, N. aristatus, N. decaryanus,
B. multiplex, B. spinosa, B. vulgaris
N. elongatus, N. emirnensis,
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
(B. madagascariensis, B. vulgaris var.
N. humbertianus, N. lokohoensis,
et al. [18], Inada and Hall [20],
green, and B. vulgaris var. vittata),
N. madagascariensis,
Madagascar
King et al. [30], INBAR [17],
D. asper, D. giganteus, D. strictus,
N. manongarivensis, N. perrieri,
Clayton et al. [19]
Gigantochloa aff. pseudoarundinacea,
N. tsaratananensis, Ochlandra capitata,
and P. aurea.
O. latifolia, Perrierbambus
madagascariensis, Perrierbambus
tsarasaotrensis, Schizostachyum
perrieri, Sirochloa parvifolia
(Schizostachyum bosseri),
Thamnocalamus ibityensis,
Thamnocalamus sp., Yushania
humbertii, Y. madagascariensis,
Y. perrieri, Yushania sp., Valiha diffusa,
V. perrieri , and Valiha sp.
Phillips [2], Grimshaw [21],
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
O. alpina, O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii,
Malawi
et al. [18], Sosola-Banda and
and O. abyssinica.
Johnsen [31]
Inada and Hall [20], INBAR
Mali
O. abyssinica
[17]
Mauritius
Probably B. tessellata
B. multiplex and D. giganteus.
Ohrnberger [1], INBAR [17]
Morocco
P. japonica
INBAR [17]
No. List of countries
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
6
International Journal of Forestry Research
Table 1: Continued.
No. List of countries
Origin and distribution of bamboo resource in the African region
Indigenous (native) species
Introduced (exotic) species
30
Mozambique
O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii, and
O. abyssinica.
31
Niger
O. abyssinica
32
Nigeria
33
Republic of
Congo
34
Réunion
35
Rwanda
36
São Tomé and
Prı́ncipe
B. bambos, B. vulgaris (B. striata),
D. hamiltonii, and D. strictus.
Reference
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
INBAR [17]
B. vulgaris, Brachystachyum stellatus,
Dayeteng spp., D. giganteus, D. sinicus,
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
Fargesia robusta, Gelidocalamus
G. densiflora, G. humilis, O. latifolia,
stellatus, Nuomizhu xiaoyeteng, P. edulis et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
and O. abyssinica.
et al. [19]
(P. heterocycla var. pubescens),
Pleioblastus fortunei, Shibataea
chinensis, and Y. baishazuensis.
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
G. marantifolia, O. alpina, O. latifolia,
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
and O. abyssinica.
et al. [19]
Inada and Hall [20], INBAR
N. borbonicus
D. giganteus
[17]
Phillips [2], Inada and Hall
O. alpina and O. abyssinica.
B. vulgaris
[20], INBAR [17], Clayton et al.
[19]
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica.
37
Senegal
38
Seychelles
39
Sierra Leone
G. oblonga, O. latifolia, and
O. abyssinica.
40
South Africa
O. abyssinica and B. tessellata.
41
South Sudan
O. alpina and O. abyssinica.
42
Sudan
O. alpina, O. latifolia, and O. abyssinica.
43
Swaziland
O. abyssinica
44
Togo
B. bambos, B. multiplex, B. vulgaris
(B. vulgaris var. striata), O. latifolia,
and O. abyssinica.
45
Uganda
H. africana, O. alpina, O. latifolia,
O. buchwaldii, and O. abyssinica.
46
United
Republic of
Tanzania
B. vulgaris (B. vulgaris var. green and
B. vulgaris var. vittata), H. africana,
O. alpina, O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii,
and O. abyssinica.
47
Zambia
O. alpina, O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii,
and O. abyssinica.
48
Zimbabwe
O. latifolia, O. buchwaldii, and
O. abyssinica.
B. balcooa and B. vulgaris.
INBAR [17], Haroun et al. [32]
Phillips [2], Ohrnberger [1],
Bystriakova et al. [18], Inada
and Hall [20], INBAR [17],
Clayton et al. [19]
O. latifolia and O. abyssinica
B. multiplex, B. vulgaris, D. giganteus,
D. strictus, and P. nigra.
Zhou [16], INBAR [17]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
B. balcooa
et al. [18], Inada and Hall [20]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], Clayton et al. [19]
Phillips [2], Ohrnberger [1];
B. polymorpha, B. teres, B. tulda,
B. vulgaris, D. giganteus, D. hamiltonii, Bystriakova et al. [18]; zhou
D. longispathus, D. strictus, S. pergracile, [16]; INBAR [17]; Clayton et al.
[19]
and Melocanna baccifera.
INBAR [17]
B. beecheyana, B. birmanica,
B. dissimulator, B. edulis, B. oldhamii,
B. nutans, B. polymorpha, B. spinosa,
B. ventricosa, B. warmin, D. brandisii, Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], Kokutse et al. [33],
D. latiflorus, D. membranaceus,
D. strictus, G. albociliata, Gigantochloa INBAR [17], Clayton et al. [19]
bali white, Gigantochloa luteostriata,
Gigantochloa malay dwarf,
G. angustifolia, and G. chacoensis.
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], zhou [16], Inada and
Hall (2008), Ingram et al. [23],
D. asper
INBAR [17], INBAR [34],
Clayton et al. [19]
Grimshaw [21], Ohrnberger [1],
Bystriakova et al. [18], zhou
[16], Inada and Hall [20],
INBAR [17], Clayton et al. [19]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], zhou [16], INBAR
[17], Clayton et al. [19]
Ohrnberger [1], Bystriakova
et al. [18], INBAR [17], Clayton
et al. [19]
B. vulgaris
International Journal of Forestry Research
7
Table 2: A complete checklist and the scientific names of bamboo species in the African region.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
Species name
Bambusa balcooa Roxb.
Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss and ∗ Bambusa arundinacea (Retz.) Willd.
Bambusa beecheyana Munro
+
Bambusa birmanica
Bambusa burmanica Gamble
Bambusa dissimulator McClure
Bambusa emeiensis L. C. Chia and H. L. Fung
Bambusa heterostachya (Munro) Holttum
Bambusa lako Widjaja
Bambusa multiplex ՝Albovariegata՛ and ∗ Bambusa multiplex ՝Silverstripe՛ Fernleaf՛
Bambusa multiplex (Lour.) Raeusch. ex Schult. f., ∗ Bambusa multiplex f. alphonse-karrii (Mitford ex Satow) Nakai, or Bambusa
multiplex Roxb.
Bambusa nutans Wall. ex Munro
Bambusa oldhamii Munro
Bambusa pachinensis Hayata and ∗ Bambusa textilis var. fusca McClure
Bambusa pervariabilis McClure
Bambusa polymorpha Munro
Bambusa spinosa Roxb and ∗ Bambusa blumeana Schult. f.
Bambusa teres Munro
Bambusa textilis McClure
Bambusa tulda Roxb.
Bambusa ventricosa McClure
Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J. C. Wendl., ∗ Bambusa madagascariensis Rivière and C. Rivière, Bambusa striata Lodd. ex Lindl.,
+
Bambusa vulgaris var. green, Bambusa vulgaris var. striata (Lodd. ex Lindl.) Gamble, and Bambusa vulgaris var. vittata Rivière and
C. Rivière
+
Bambusa warmin
Bergbambos tessellata (Nees) Stapleton and ∗ Thamnocalamus tessellatus (Nees) Soderstr. and R. P. Ellis
+
Brachystachyum stellatus
Cathariostachys capitata (Kunth) S. Dransf.
Cathariostachys madagascariensis (A. Camus) S. Dransf.
Cephalostachyum chapelieri Munro
Cephalostachyum perrieri A. Camus
Cephalostachyum sp.
Cephalostachyum viguieri A. Camus
Dayeteng spp.
Decaryochloa diadelpha A. Camus
Dendrocalamus asper (Schult. Schult. f.) Backer ex K. Heyne
Dendrocalamus barbatus Hsueh and D. Z. Li
Dendrocalamus brandisii (Munro) Kurz and ∗ Bambusa brandisii Munro
Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees and Arn. ex Munro
Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro
Dendrocalamus longispathus (Kurz) Kurz
Dendrocalamus membranaceus Munro
Dendrocalamus peculiaris Hsueh and D. Z. Li
Dendrocalamus sinicus L. C. Chia and J. L. Sun
Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.) Nees
Fargesia robusta T. P. Yi
Gelidocalamus stellatus T. H. Wen
Gigantochloa albociliata (Munro) Kurz
Gigantochloa apus (Schult. f.) Kurz
Gigantochloa atter (Hassk.) Kurz
+
Gigantochloa bali white
Gigantochloa felix (Keng) Keng f. and ∗ Oxytenanthera felix Keng
Gigantochloa luteostriata Widjaja
+
Gigantochloa malay dwarf
+
Gigantochloa sumatra
Gigantochloa verticillata (Willd.) Munro and ∗ +Gigantochloa aff. pseudoarundinacea
Guadua amplexifolia J. Presl in C. B. Presl
Guadua angustifolia Kunth
8
International Journal of Forestry Research
Table 2: Continued.
No.
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
Species name
Guadua chacoensis (Rojas Acosta) Londoño and P. M. Peterson
Guaduella densiflora Pilger ap. Engler
Guaduella dichroa T. A. Cope
Guaduella humilis W. D. Clayton
Guaduella macrostachys (K. Schumann) Pilger
Guaduella marantifolia Franchet
Guaduella oblonga Hutchinson ex W. D. Clayton
Hickelia africana S. Dransf.
Hickelia alaotrensis A. Camus
Hickelia madagascariensis A. Camus
Hickelia perrieri (A. Camus) S. Dransf.
Hitchcockella baronii A. Camus
Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz and ∗ Melocanna bambusoides Trin. in K. P. J. Sprengel
Nastus ambrensis A. Camus
Nastus aristatus A. Camus
Nastus borbonicus J. F. Gmel.
Nastus decaryanus A. Camus
Nastus elongatus A. Camus
Nastus emirnensis (Baker) A. Camus
Nastus humbertianus A. Camus
Nastus lokohoensis A. Camus
Nastus madagascariensis A. Camus
Nastus manongarivensis A. Camus
Nastus perrieri A. Camus
Nastus tsaratananensis A. Camus
+
Nuomizhu xiaoyeteng
Ochlandra capitata (Kunth) Camus
Ochlandra travancorica (Bedd.) Gamble
Oldeania alpina (K. Schum.) Stapleton, ∗ Arundinaria alpina K. Schum., Yushania alpina (K. Schum.) W. C. Linor, and
Sinarundinaria alpina (K. Schum.) C. S. Chao and Renvoize
Olyra latifolia L.
Oreobambos buchwaldii K. Schum.
Oxytenanthera abyssinica (A. Rich.) Munro and ∗ Oxytenanthera braunii Pilg.
Perrierbambus madagascariensis A. Camus
Perrierbambus tsarasaotrensis A. Camus
Phyllostachys aurea (André) Rivière and C. Rivière
Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J. Houz, ∗ Phyllostachys pubescens (Pradelle) Mazel ex J. Houz., Phyllostachys heterocycla var.
pubescens (Pradelle) Ohwi, or Bambusa edulis Carrière
Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis (Mitford) Rendle
Pleioblastus fortunei (Van Houtte) Nakai and ∗ Sasa pygmaea (Miq.) Rehder
Pseudosasa amabilis (McClure) Keng f. and ∗ Arundinaria amabilis McClure
Pseudosasa japonica (Siebold and zucc. ex Steud.) Makino ex Nakai
+
Puelia atractocarpa
Schizostachyum jaculans Holttum
Schizostachyum pergracile (Munro) R. B. Majumdar in S. Karthikeyan et al. and ∗ Cephalostachyum pergracile Munro
Schizostachyum perrieri A. Camus
Shibataea chinensis Nakai
Shibataea kumasaca (Zoll. ex Steud.) Makino
Sirochloa parvifolia (Munro) S. Dransf., ∗ Schizostachyum parvifolium Munro, or Schizostachyum bosseri A. Camus
Thamnocalamus ibityensis (A. Camus) Ohrnb.
Thamnocalamus sp.
Thyrsostachys siamensis Gamble
Valiha diffusa S. Dransf.
Valiha perrieri (A. Camus) S. Dransf and ∗ Ochlandra perrieri A. Camus
Valiha sp.
Yushania baishazuensis Z. P. Wang and G. H. Ye
Yushania humbertii (A. Camus) Ohrnb and ∗ Yushania ambositrensis (A. Camus) Ohrnb.
Yushania madagascariensis (A. Camus) Ohrnb and ∗ Yushania marojejyensis (A. Camus) Ohrnb.
Yushania perrieri (A. Camus) Ohrnb.
Yushania sp.
Note. Most recently accepted scientific names are provided in the bamboo species checklist following Phillips [2], Ohrnberger [1], Wu et al. [3], Inada and Hall
[20], INBAR [17], and Clayton et al. [19]. The most commonly used taxonomic synonyms and varieties are indicated with asterisks. Incomplete scientific
names due to inadequate information are further illustrated with cross marks.
International Journal of Forestry Research
9
Table 3: A checklist of bamboo genera classified into taxonomic tribes in the African region.
Major taxonomic tribes and their respective bamboo genera in the African region
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Tribe. Arundinarieae
Distribution of each genus in the African nations
Lesotho
Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria
Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Republic of
Oldeania
Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia
Phyllostachys
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, and Nigeria
Pleioblastus
Nigeria
Pseudosasa
Algeria, Morocco and Kenya
Shibataea
Kenya and Nigeria
Thamnocalamus
Lesotho and Madagascar
Yushania
Madagascar
Tribe. Bambuseae
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Bambusa
Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Prı́ncipe, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan,
Togo, and United Republic of Tanzania
Cathariostachys
Madagascar
Cephalostachyum
Madagascar
Decaryochloa
Madagascar
Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius,
Dendrocalamus
Mozambique, Nigeria, Réunion, Seychelles, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda
Gigantochloa
Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Togo
Guadua
Ethiopia, Ghana, and Uganda
Hickelia
Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, and United Republic of Tanzania
Hitchcockella
Madagascar
Melocanna
Sudan
Nastus
Madagascar
Ochlandra
Madagascar
Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda,
Oreobambos
United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote
d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia,
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger,
Oxytenanthera
Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Prı́ncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South
Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe
Perrierbambus
Madagascar
Schizostachyum
Ethiopia, Kenya, and Madagascar
Sirochloa
Comoros and Madagascar
Thyrsostachys
Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya
Valiha
Madagascar
Tribe. Guaduelleae
Angola, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of
Guaduella
Congo, and Sierra Leone
Tribe. Olyreae
Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Cote
d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Republic of Congo,
Olyra
São Tomé and Prı́ncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of
Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Tribe. Puelieae
Puelia
Cameroon
Tribe. Others
Dayeteng
Nigeria
Nuomizhu
Nigeria
Genus name
Bergbambos
Brachystachyum
Fargesia
Gelidocalamus
Total number of
nations
19
1
1
1
1
13
6
1
3
2
2
1
45
24
1
1
1
14
4
3
4
1
1
1
1
10
38
1
3
2
3
1
10
10
30
30
1
1
1
1
1
Note. Listed bamboo genera are classified into each taxonomic tribe following Ohrnberger [1], Wu et al. [3], Inada and Hall [20], INBAR [17], and Clayton
et al. [19].
10
International Journal of Forestry Research
Table 4: A summary of bamboo resource diversity and distribution in the African region.
African
region
Mainland
Africa
Species
Indigenous
Introduced
Total
Indigenous
B. balcooa, B. bambos,
B. beecheyana,
B. birmanica,
B. burmanica,
B. dissimulator,
B. emeiensis,
B. heterostachya,
B. lako, B. multiplex
՝Albovariegata՛,
B. multiplex, B. nutans,
B. oldhamii,
B. pachinensis,
B. polymorpha,
B. spinosa, B. teres,
B. textilis, B. tulda,
B. ventricosa,
B. warmin, B. vulgaris,
B. stellatus, D. asper,
D. barbatus,
B. bambos, B. multiplex,
D. brandisii,
B. pervariabilis,
D. giganteus,
B. vulgaris, B. tessellata,
Bambusa,
D. hamiltonii,
D. strictus, G. felix,
Bergbambos,
D. latiflorus,
G. densiflora, G. dichroa,
Dendrocalamus,
D. longispathus,
G. humilis,
Gigantochloa,
D. membranaceus,
G. macrostachys,
Guaduella, Hickelia,
13
21 D. peculiaris, D. sinicus, 63 78
G. marantifolia,
Oldeania, Olyra,
Dendrocalamus spp.,
G. oblonga, H. africana,
Oreobambos,
F. robusta,
O. alpina, O. latifolia,
Oxytenanthera,
G. albociliata,
O. buchwaldii,
Pseudosasa, Puelia,
G. angustifolia,
O. abyssinica,
and Thamnocalamus
G.
chacoensis,
P. amabilis,
G. stellatus,
P. atractocarpa, and
G. albociliata, G. apus,
Thamnocalamus sp.
G. atter, G. bali white,
G. luteostriata,
G. malay dwarf,
G. sumatra,
G. amplexifolia,
G. angustifolia,
M. baccifera,
N. xiaoyeteng,
O. abyssinica,
O. travancorica,
P. nigra var. henonis,
P. aurea, P. edulis,
P. fortunei, P. japonica,
S. pergracile,
S. jaculans, S. chinensis,
S. kumasaca,
T. siamensis, and
Y. baishazuensis
Genera
Introduced
Bambusa,
Brachystachyum,
Dayeteng,
Dendrocalamus,
Fargesia,
Gelidocalamus,
Gigantochloa,
Guadua,
Melocanna,
Nuomizhu,
Ochlandra,
Oxytenanthera,
Phyllostachys,
Pleioblastus,
Pseudosasa,
Schizostachyum,
Shibataea,
Thyrsostachys, and
Yushania
Total
19
27
International Journal of Forestry Research
11
Table 4: Continued.
Species
Genera
Indigenous
Introduced
Total
Indigenous
Introduced
B. stellatus, C. capitata,
C. madagascariensis,
C. chapelieri, C. perrieri,
Cephalostachyum. sp.,
C. viguieri, D. diadelpha,
H. alaotrensis,
H. madagascariensis,
H. perrieri, H. baronii,
N. aristatus,
Brachystachyum,
N. borbonicus,
Cathariostachys,
N. decaryanus,
Cephalostachyum,
N. elongatus,
Decaryochloa,
N. emirnensis,
B. balcooa,
Hickelia,
N. humbertianus,
B. multiplex, B. spinosa,
Bambusa,
Hitchcockella,
N. lokohoensis,
B. vulgaris, D. asper,
Dendrocalamus,
Nastus, Ochlandra,
N. madagascariensis,
16
10 50
D. giganteus,
40
Six islands
Gigantochloa, and
Olyra,
N. manongarivensis,
D. strictus, G. aff.
Phyllostachys
Oxytenanthera,
N. perrieri,
Pseudoarundinacea,
Perrierbambus,
N. tsaratananensis,
P. aurea, and P. nigra
Schizostachyum,
N. ambrensis,
Sirochloa,
O. abyssinica,
Thamnocalamus,
O. capitata, O. latifolia,
Valiha, and Yushania
P. madagascariensis,
P. tsarasaotrensis,
S. perrieri, S. parvifolia,
T. ibityensis,
Thamnocalamus sp.,
V. perrieri, V. diffusa,
Valiha sp.,Y. humbertii,
Y. madagascariensis,
Y. perrieri, and
Yushania sp.
Total
58
65 115
25
African
region
back within the region. In this case, O. abyssinica is well
known among 38 (79.2%) African nations, followed by
O. alpina with a total of 13 (27.1%) African countries. On the
other hand, 27.1% of the nations contain both species. For
example, their total area coverage only from Ethiopia is 1.44
million ha [35], suggesting that a huge resource potential is
found in the region. Their tremendous socioeconomic,
cultural, and ecological uses commonly practiced by the
local people are also cited as a model for bamboo resource
utilization. Among others, Ethiopia is well-known for the
untapped resource potential and wider distribution of these
species in different agroecologies. There are also relatively
more previous works carried out, and better information is
comparatively available for these species. With this understanding, detail literature review on general background, biology, origin and distribution, status and
resource potential, multipurpose uses, and silvicultural
applications of O. abyssinica and O. alpina are extensively
conducted and provided from Ethiopia. Figures and photos
Total
4
20
19
35
are further provided by the corresponding author from his
previous professional experience in forestry research at the
national research system particularly for indigenous
bamboo species.
5.1. Oldeania alpina (K. Schum.)
Common name: highland/alpine/African alpine bamboo [2, 4]
Local name: Kerkeha in Amharic and Lemen in Affan
Oromo languages [2, 39].
Synonymous: Arundinaria alpina K. Schum., Yushania
alpina (K. Schum.) W. C. Lin, and Sinarundinaria
alpina (K. Schum.) Chao and Renv [2, 4, 17]
Description: it grows up to a maximum height of 17 m
and diameter of 13 cm from a stout branching rhizome
[4]
12
International Journal of Forestry Research
Table 5: A summary of the origin and distribution of bamboo resource in the African region.
List of countries
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros ∗
Cote d’Ivoire
Democratic Republic of Congo
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar ∗
Malawi
Mali
Mauritius ∗
Morocco
Mozambique
Niger
Nigeria
Republic of Congo
Réunion ∗
Rwanda
São Tomé and Prı́ncipe ∗
Senegal
Seychelles ∗
Sierra Leone
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
United Republic of Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Indigenous
5
2
2
4
10
2
1
2
3
4
2
1
3
3
2
8
2
2
5
3
3
Indigenous
37
4
1
1
3
1
4
4
1
2
2
2
3
2
2
3
1
6
5
5
4
3
Origin of bamboo species
Introduced
1
3
1
3
1
2
2
25
16
1
16
1
Introduced
8
2
1
4
12
1
1
2
5
1
1
10
20
1
Total
1
5
5
3
4
13
2
1
2
4
6
2
2
1
28
3
2
24
3
2
21
3
3
1
Total
45
4
1
3
1
7
1
16
4
2
3
4
2
5
4
3
2
13
1
6
25
6
4
3
Note. The six islands surrounding the mainland Africa are indicated with asterisks. The species list for each country is in Table 1.
Rhizome type: there is a controversial issue on the
rhizome type of O. alpina (Figure 2(a)). It is either
monopodial or leptomorph rhizome type [2] or
pachymorph or sympodial rhizome type [4, 29].
According to Meredith [4], some of the rhizome necks
are exceptionally elongated and exhibit a spreading
habit instead of forming a dense clump [4]. Such
loose clump-forming pachymorph rhizome makes
the species improperly considered under the running
or creeping rhizome type, i.e., monopodial rhizome
type [29].
Culms sheaths: the culm sheath (Figure 4(a)), which is
covered with dense hairs, contains reddish-brown
bristles and fimbriate auricles at the tip part [2]
International Journal of Forestry Research
13
Table 6: Status and potential of bamboo resource in the African region.
Bamboo area
(1000 ha)
Bamboo
area (%)
Forest area
(1000 ha), GFRA
(2015)
Bamboo to
forest area
(%)
Year of
available
data
Reference
Remark
5
0.11
18816
0.03
2010
Ingram et al.
[23]
Data only from
northwest of
Cameroon.
Congo
102
2.24
22334
0.46
1988
Ethiopia
Ghana
Kenya
1439
400
131
31.55
8.77
2.87
12499
9337
4413
11.51
4.28
2.97
2018
2015
2018
UNDIO [39, 42]
cited in FAO [7]
Zhao et al. [35]
INBAR [27]
Zhao et al. [35]
Nigeria
1590
34.86
6993
22.74
2007
FAO [7]
Rwanda
17
0.37
480
3.54
1985
Senegal
Sudan
Uganda
United
Republic of
Tanzania
661
31
54.6
14.49
0.68
1.20
8273
19210
2077
7.99
0.16
2.63
2010
2010
2018
128
2.81
46060
0.28
2010
FAO [7] cited in
FAO [36]
Zimbabwe
3.2
0.07
14062
0.02
2001
FAO (2001)
cited in FAO [7]
4561.8
100
164554
100
Country
Cameroon
Total
Overestimated and not
verified.
FRA (1985) cited
in FAO [7]
FAO [36]
FAO [36]
Zhao et al. [35]
Figure 2: Rhizome type of (a) O. alpina (source: [37]) and (b) O. abyssinica. Clumps and culms: it is characterized by erect, thick-walled, and
hollow culm bamboo species (Figures 3(a) and 3(b)).
Flowering pattern: the flowering pattern of O. alpina
(Figure 5) is sporadic flowering [29, 39]. This means
only some individuals or clumps within the bamboo
forest are flowered, produce seeds, and eventually died,
while the rest part of the bamboo forest is alive [39].
Yet, Kigomo [29] reported that after the flowering of
the species, seeds are produced and still the flowered
clumps are alive instead of dying.
Inflorescence: the paniculate inflorescence is loose to
fairly compact in appearance. The shape of the spikelet,
which is comprised 4–11 flowers, ranged from linear to
linear-elliptic [2]. The author also noted that lanceolate
to oblong-shaped lemmas on each spikelet are covered
with hairs.
Distribution: O. alpina is found in montane forest often
on volcanic soils, with Podocarpus in upland rainforest
and with Juniperus in drier forest frequently planted
along roads and in villages [2]. The species, which is
indigenous to equatorial Africa, can grow in full
sunlight but can also be found within a minimum
temperature of −4 C [4]. It is distributed in Gojam,
Shewa, Kefa, Gamo Gofa, Sidamo, and Bale regions
(Figure 6) at the altitudes ranging from 2200 m to
4000 m above the sea level [2].
Silvicultural application: despite the limited availability
of seeds, the species is propagated by seeds as shown in
Figure 7(a) [40] or collected seedlings from the wild at
nursery. The species is also vegetatively propagated
through offset cutting, culm cutting [29, 41], culm
layering, branch cutting, rhizome cutting [41], and
macroproliferation [29, 39].
14
International Journal of Forestry Research
Figure 3: O. alpina standing culms (a) and thick and hollow culm (b).
Figure 4: Culms sheaths of (a) O. alpina and (b) O. abyssinica. Leaves: linear lanceolate-shaped leaf blade is extended from the culm sheath.
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270
271
272
273
274
Figure 5: Bamboo mass flowering and seed production of (a) O. alpina in Hula district of Sidama Zone, SNNPR in 2017 and
(b) O. abyssinica (source: [38]).
Once seedlings are raised at nursery or green house
(Figure 8(a)), weeding, hoeing, fertilizer application,
supervision of insect and pest, and acclimatization
(hardening) are carried out. Following this, seedlings
are safely transported to prepared plantation sites and
planted with or without the application of organic
manure. Once established, the survival rate and growth
performance of seedlings are supervised and dead
seedlings are replaced. Hereafter, various plantation
managements including thinning, fertilizer application,
selective cutting, regular weeding and cleaning, soil
loosening, supervision of insect pests and diseases, and
controlling animal browsing, rodent damage, and fire
outbreaks are conducted.
International Journal of Forestry Research
15
Key
Highland bamboo
Lowland bamboo
Figure 6: Geographical distribution of O. alpina and O. abyssinica in Ethiopia. Origin: indigenous to Ethiopia and endemic to Africa
[13, 14].
Figure 7: Fresh collected seeds of (a) O. alpina from Hula district and (b) O. abyssinica from Assosa district after mass flowering and fruiting
in 2017.
Figure 8: O. alpina (a) and O. abyssinica (b) seedlings at CEE-FRC greenhouse in January 2021, Addis Ababa.
16
International Journal of Forestry Research
Figure 9: Bamboo charcoal making in Ethiopia (source: [22]).
Figure 10: O. abyssinica standing culms (a) and thick and solid culms after maturation (b).
Figure 11: Traditional use of bamboo for (a) house construction, (b) fencing, and (c) household utensils (e.g., basket).
Uses: traditional house construction and fencing, furniture
and household utensils, farming tools, livestock fodder and
traditional medicine, production of handicrafts (basketry,
mats, hats, and decorative items), water pipes, weaving,
beehive, musical instruments and weapons, walking sticks,
furniture, and other household utensils. In recent years,
various industries and factories are emerged on processing
and production of bamboo products. Some of these
products are production of toothpicks and chopsticks,
parquet flooring, window blinds, curtains, bioenergy
(charcoal and briquettes (Figure 9)), and other related
products for local and international market.
5.2. Oxytenanthera abyssinica (A. Rich.) Munro
Common name: lowland bamboo [2, 13, 14, 42]
Local name: Shimel in Amharic and Shimalla in Affan
Oromo [2, 42]
Synonymous: Bambusa abyssinica A. Rich. [2, 13, 14]
Description: O. abyssinica grows up to a height of 13 m
and a diameter of 10 cm [2]
Rhizome type: the species is a solid clump-forming
bamboo and classified under the sympodial or
pachymorph rhizome type [2, 4, 29, 42]. It is
International Journal of Forestry Research
characterized by a short-necked rhizome type, and each
new rhizome turns up ward and sprouts to shoot and
eventually develops into a young culm (Figure 2(b)).
Culms: it has an erect or ascending culm with a height
of 3–13 m and a culm diameter of 5–10 cm [2]. Unlike
most of the bamboo species, it has semisolid culm
(Figures 10(a) and 10(b)) during the early stage of
development but solid after maturation [2, 4, 29, 42].
During the early young stage, the culm is silky and
hairy, while shiny with various colors after maturation
[2].
Culms sheaths: it is covered with brown hairs with leaf
blade at its tip part (Figure 4(a)). However, the sheath
further consists of a few deciduous setae on the
shoulders but without auricles [2].
Leaves: narrow lanceolate-oblong leaf blade is attached to
culm sheath with a very short petiole or pseudopetiole [2]
Flowering pattern: the flowering pattern of
O. abyssinica is gregarious flowering (Figure 5(b)), i.e.,
mass flowering followed by mass death of the whole
bamboo forest after seed production [38, 42]. Still other
findings report that the species has both flowering
patterns, i.e., cyclical gregarious flowering and unpredictable sporadic flowering [29, 42]. This suggests
that there is no consistency of data on the flowering
intervals of these species, and it varies among different
sources. Therefore, detail and long-term study on
flowering phenomena needs special attention.
Inflorescence: this species has an inflorescence with a
spiky globose head and characterized by narrow lanceolate-shaped spikelet [2]. In addition, the same author noted that the fertile lemmas have comparable
length to the spikelet unlike the sterile lemmas with a
shorter size.
Distribution: the species is widely distributed in lowland regions of western and northwestern parts of
Ethiopia [43] in Tigray, Gonder, Gojam, and Welega
regions as shown in Figure 6 [2]. Oxytenanthera
abyssinica is found in savanna woodland, favoring river
valleys, often forming extensive stands at the altitudes
ranging from 1200 m to 1800 m above the sea level [2].
Yet, Meredith [4] explained that it is distributed
throughout tropical Africa at altitudinal ranges from
near the sea level to 2000 m in savannahs and on
hillsides. Its annual rainfall ranges 700–1000 mm,
which is concentrated over a period of three to four
months with the mean annual temperature of above
30 C [42]. The species can grow at a minimum temperature of −1 C and prefers moist conditions along
waterways [4]. However, this author further found out
that O. abyssinica can grow in full sunlight, and it is also
drought resistant and may be deciduous in hot and dry
conditions. The species is easily adaptable to poor soils
and provided as a buffer zone for desert areas. The
species form either a large area pure forest or they are
found as middle and lower layers in the mixed forest
associated by other species in the mountainous areas.
17
Origin: indigenous to Ethiopia and endemic to Africa
[13, 14]
Silvicultural application: the species is propagated by
seeds as shown in Figure 7(b) [29, 40, 44–47] or collected seedlings from the wild at nursery. There is also
better availability of O. abyssinica seeds, higher seed
germination, and better greenhouse performance of
seedlings compared to O. alpina (Figure 8)(b) [40]. In
addition, the species is vegetatively propagated through
offset cutting, macroproliferation [29, 42], and tissue
culture [48]. Once seedlings are raised at nursery or
green house, weeding, hoeing, fertilizer application,
supervision of insects and pests, and acclimatization
(hardening) are carried out [46]. Following this,
seedlings are safely transported to prepared plantation
sites and planted with or without the application of
organic manure. Once established, the survival rate and
growth performance of seedlings are supervised and
dead seedlings are replaced. Hereafter, various plantation managements including thinning, fertilizer application, selective cutting, regular weeding and
cleaning, soil loosening, supervision of insects, pests,
and diseases, and controlling animal browsing, rodent
damage, fire outbreaks are conducted.
Uses: traditional house construction and fencing,
furniture and household utensils, farming tools, edible
shoot production, livestock fodder and traditional
medicine, production of handicrafts (basketry, mats,
hats, and decorative items), water pipes, weaving,
beehive, musical instruments and weapons, walking
sticks, furniture, and other household utensils. In recent years, various industries and factories are emerged
on processing and production of bamboo products.
Some of these products are production of toothpicks
and chopsticks, parquet flooring, window blinds,
curtains, bioenergy (charcoal and briquette), and other
related products for local and international market.
6. Opportunities and Challenges on Bamboo
Resource in the African Region
6.1. Opportunities. Our extensive literature review indicated
that bamboo resource has some tremendous opportunities
for its development and promotion in the region. The African region has untapped bamboo resource potential with
immense socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological significances to local people (Figures 11(a)–11(c)). At the same
time, due to its fast growth rate, high biomass production,
and short rotation period, bamboo resource is one of the
most promising and suitable species to replace the forest
resource. In recent years, emerging community-based
bamboo processing cooperatives, enterprises, and industries
for different end products are some of the opportunities.
Some of these products are production of baskets, mats,
toothpicks and chopsticks, parquet flooring, window blinds,
curtains, and other related products for local and international market. Bamboo biomass also can provide a sustained
source of feedstock for bamboo-based bioenergy
18
production. Thus, bioenergy is produced by the conversion
of bamboo biomass into solid fuels (firewood, charcoal, and
briquette for cooking, heating, and lighting), liquid fuels or
biofuels (bioethanol and biomethane production), and
biogas (to produce power or electricity) [49]. Its suitability to
replace the role of forest products such as timber and wood is
its best potential value. For instance, bamboo culms are
commonly served as scaffoldings and replaced the role of
iron steel or wood functions [50]. Nowadays, timber harvesting, bamboo poles, and scaffoldings are emerging opportunities for bamboo resource development. Selling of
bamboo culms is one of the attractive income generating
activities in the bamboo sector in Ethiopia. According to Lou
[8], the global bamboo trade is estimated to be between $1.5
and 2.5 billion. Out of $18 million exports of bamboo
products in African, Ethiopia contributes $0.23 million,
which is accounted for about 0.02% of the global exports
[51]. The same study also reported that bamboo pole, which
is the most exported bamboo commodity, accounted for
about $0.23 million. A total of 89,845 highland bamboo
poles are produced by the smallholder households for house
construction, furniture production, handcraft making (bed,
table, chair, shelve, and mat), fencing, and household
utensils [52]. In turn, the average total annual income from
bamboo in Sidama, Awi, and Sheka is 2235, 2084, and 284
Birr, respectively [53]. In the same way, out of the average
annual 21000 bamboo culms supply, an average annual
$6738 net income is earned at Addis Ababa market [54].
Edible bamboo shoots are one of the most important sources
of daily dish with rich sources of nutritional contents. For
instance, the nutritional analysis of indigenous bamboo
species in Ethiopia (A. alpina and O. abyssinica) indicated
that both species have almost comparable moisture content,
ash, crude fiber, protein, fat, and mineral (iron, zinc, and
sodium) composition [55]. By contrast, the same authors
found that tannin and phytate contents in O. abyssinica and
HCN in A. alpina are low. Thus, bamboo shoots production
is one of the most promising species to ensure food security
especially in the rural setting. Associated with this resource
base assessment, introducing new species from elsewhere,
propagation, utilization, and management practices of the
bamboo resources are enhanced from time to time. On the
other hand, it has a high potential to sink a considerable
amount of carbon and hence confront climate change across
the globe. For instance, literature review from various
previous studies reported that mean carbon storage rate
ranges from 30 Mg ha−1 to 121 Mg ha−1, while the mean
carbon sequestration potential is 6–13 Mg ha−1 yr−1 [56].
Similarly, the carbon sequestration potential of Moso
bamboo is 43 tone ha−1 [8]. This, in turn, plays a paramount
importance in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
and Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE).
6.2. Challenges and Constraints. Despite immense opportunities of the resource, there are critical challenges faced to
the bamboo resource in the African region. Our extensive
literature review reported that data are almost unavailable,
fragmented, inconsistent, and even contradictory [7]. For
instance, the study further noted that out of 7 introduced
International Journal of Forestry Research
bamboo species in Algeria, only 1 species is identified and
included during this review. In addition, the resource is
marginalized and neglected by development practitioners so
that its utilization is restricted to traditional and cultural uses
in the rural setting. Its importance and use are limited to hut
construction, fencing, production of handicrafts (basketry,
mats, hats, and decorative items), water pipes, furniture, and
other household utensils. Among others, common occurrence in the river banks, stream banks, pocket areas, hillsides, between fields and abandoned areas, degraded areas,
and planted as hedges are some of the existing evidences.
Due to this reason, there are limited management practices,
and hence, depletion of bamboo resource is the major
concern in potential areas. Likewise, the resource is gradually declining due to various human-induced and natural
factors. These include agricultural expansion or shifting
cultivation, high fuel wood demand, construction and human settlement, and other associated factors
[7, 13, 14, 36, 39, 42]. Uncontrolled and/or deliberate forest
fire in the dryland areas, overgrazing/over browsing by
livestock particularly during dry seasons in lowland areas
(O. abyssinica) or in limited feed resource in the highland
areas (O. alpina), and overharvesting the resource further
aggravate the problem. Furthermore, limited availability of
seeds; difficulty in seed collection, processing, and handling;
low seed viability; and poor seed storage characteristics are
the practical problems in bamboo large-scale propagation
using seeds [40, 47]. The problem is even more complicated
with mass flowering and death of bamboo (Figures 5(a) and
5)(b), flowering at longer intervals, and unpredicted flowering [29, 38, 39, 42]. Overall, all the aforementioned limitations influence the small-scale and large-scale plantation
expansion and development, sustainable use and management, as well as genetic resource conservation of the species.
Therefore, it needs urgent call for special focus and action for
the sustainable development and promotion of bamboo
resource in the African region.
7. Successful Achievements on Bamboo
Resource in the African Region
Despite the long history of bamboo resource in the African
region, bamboo processing and utilization are at the infant
stage. However, bamboo processing and utilization in
Ethiopia have some base and more competitive than other
African countries [57]. The same author reported that there
are above 100 bamboo furniture enterprises in Ethiopia with
high quality and well-designed products. This author also
noted that four modem enterprises produce bamboo floor,
door, curtain, charcoal, and other products in Ethiopia.
Currently, some successful achievements have been conducted on bamboo development and promotion in the region. First, an international intergovernmental organization,
i.e., International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR)
was established in 1997 between China and Africa for the
sustainable development of bamboo and rattan in Africa
[12]. With this opportunity, 40 African countries are involved in this international cooperation and exchange between China and bamboo-growing countries [27]. Following
International Journal of Forestry Research
this cooperation, several African nations have participated
on short-term and long-term training and awareness raising
opportunity on bamboo propagation, cultivation, and
bamboo management. In relation to this, developing national bamboo policy in Kenya [58], national bamboo
strategy and action plan in Ethiopia [51] and Uganda [59], as
well as bamboo policy integration analysis in Ghana [60] are
typical actions of bamboo development, promotion, and
commercialization in the African region. In the same way,
resource base inventory, introduction of new species from
bamboo potential regions, propagation, cultivation, management, and sustainable utilization of bamboo resource in
the African region become more strengthened. In relation
with better awareness raising on bamboo development and
promotion, some bamboo processing enterprises, cooperatives, and private industries and factories are emerged,
providing various bamboo end products to either local or
international markets. For instance, Bamboo Star AgroForestry Company and other bamboo factories and enterprises in Ethiopia are recently emerged and established for
processing and producing bamboo endproducts either for
local or international markets. Some of these products are
production of toothpicks, chopsticks, and household furniture (table, door, and chair). Bamboo culms for scaffolding, casting concrete flooring, building and construction
industry, pulp and paper production, laminated boards, and
timber production by replacing forest wood in Africa are still
new emerging experiences and skills. Furthermore, considering its immense socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological
significances, various mega research projects have been
initiated and implemented by some African countries.
Among these, research projects on bamboo propagation,
cultivation, management, and sustainable utilization as well
as mass flowering and death of indigenous bamboo species
in Ethiopia have been initiated and implemented formerly
by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR)
and recently succeeded by Ethiopian Environment and
Forest Research Institute (EEFRI) as typical model examples.
In line with this, 25 bamboo species are introduced from
different countries [15], and species adaptation trail has been
conducted at different agroecologies [61, 62]. These species
are Dendrocalamus asper, D. hamiltonii, D. membranaceus,
Bambusa vulgaris var. green, B. vulgaris var. vittata, and
Bambusa balcooa [61]. Of these, D. hamiltonii,
D. membranaceus [61, 62], D. asper, and Bambusa vulgaris
var. green [37] are the best adapted species at field. Similarly,
related bamboo research studies are carried out by different
researchers and professionals on indigenous and/or introduced bamboo species. Some of these are bamboo resource
base assessment [35], seed propagation [40, 44–47], seedling
performance [44–46, 63], utilization and management
[37, 61, 64–66], vegetative propagation [41, 48, 67, 68],
nutritional contents of shoots [55], and their physicochemical features [69, 70] of O. alpina and/or O. abyssinica
edible shoots. Other research outputs include suitability of
bamboo species for construction [50, 71–73], paper and
panel boards [73, 74], furniture [39, 42, 70–74], and
handcrafts [39, 42, 73, 74], industries, chemical and
19
biochemical industries [75], as well as bioenergy production
(charcoal and briquette) and durability of bamboo culms
against biodegradable agents and its control measures
[76, 77]. Moreover, comprehensive socioeconomic assess
mentions indigenous bamboo species [52, 54, 78–91], and
multiplication, prescaling up, and promotion of successfully
adapted introduced bamboo species (e.g., Dendrocalamus
hamiltonii) [61] are further achievements of bamboo research in Ethiopia. On the other hand, similar or related
bamboo research studies have been conducted in different
African countries at different times by different professionals. Some of these are Benin [92], Cameroon [23], Ghana
[26, 93–97], Kenya [21, 24, 28, 29, 35], Nigeria [98–102],
Malawi [31], Tanzania [103], Togo [33], and Uganda
[35, 104, 105].
8. Conclusion and Recommendations
Our extensive literature review clearly showed that the
African region has untapped bamboo resource potential
with immense socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological significances. However, this resource is depleted as a faster
rate associated with human-induced and natural factors.
In addition, there are no reliable and accurate resource
base data due to the lack of well-defined definition and
comprehensive resource base inventory in the region.
Hence, the information is inaccessible, fragmented, inconsistent, and even contradictory. Therefore, comprehensive research and accurate baseline information on
bamboo resource is still required as a foundation for policy
and management decisions. Similarly, most of the bamboo
resource in the region is either public or state property, so
that special focus and appropriate management intervention are not practiced. Hence, the ownership right on
bamboo resource and associated land is also clearly
specified and certified. At the same time, various silvicultural applications such as propagation, stand density
management, fertilizer application, research on mass
flowering and death of bamboo and its longer flowering
cycle, and preharvesting and postharvesting technologies
should be implemented for higher bamboo end products
(timber, bioenergy, and edible shoot). Similarly, genetic
resource conservation of bamboo species through ex situ
conservation (e.g., seed storage in cold room at +5 C) and
in situ conservation (establishing bamboo botanic garden
at field) is also practiced despite the little effort. In line with
this, establishing bamboo research institutions and
stakeholders, community-based bamboo cooperatives and
enterprisers, bamboo industries and factories, as well as
small-scale and large-scale bamboo investors/farmers in
plantation development should be further strengthened on
bamboo resource development and promotion in the
region.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
20
Acknowledgments
The article processing charge (APC) of this article was
supported by the National Key Research and Development
Program of China (grant no. 2016YFD0600901).
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