Bamboo is one of the most renewable resources we have. It’s eco-friendliness has made it an increasingly popular alternative to hardwood as a building material amongst an ever more environmentally aware market of homeowners. But what is it about bamboo that makes it so “green”? Here’s a look at the top 3 reasons for bamboo’s eco friendliness.

Bamboo Growth
The main reason behind bamboo’s eco-friendliness is the fact that it is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Bamboo is actually a type of grass that has been recorded to grow an average of 60 centimeters in one day during its growing season. Some species of bamboo can even grow as much as 121 centimeters in a day. Bamboo poles reach maturity within five years and then decay and die towards their eighth year. At which point, new shoots sprout from the intact root system of the plant. Thus, if harvested between their 3rd and 7th years of growth, bamboo plants can yield plenty of raw material while still maintaining a pretty much normal life cycle. After being cut, a bamboo forest can regenerate within a matter of a few short years. By contrast, a hardwood forest can take decades, even more than 100 years to go back to its original size after it gets logged.

Material Yield
A bamboo forest produces up to 25 times more usable building material for buying a thatched umbrella, or bamboo poles than a traditional hardwood forest. One bamboo plant with multiple shoots can yield 200 bamboo poles in over the course of five years. Compare this to a hardwood tree, which has to wait five years to even grow big enough to be cut down in a way that’s commercially viable.

A Healthier Atmosphere
Just one bamboo plant can produce up to 35% more oxygen than a whole handful hardwood trees, which is why bamboo farms are great for reforesting razed land. Bamboo, according to the World Wildlife Fund, also can store about 6.88 metric tons of carbon per year. That’s roughly 70% more than hardwood trees are able to store. This means that, when bamboo is turned into flooring and fencing material treated to prevent rot, the carbon it holds can be kept fixed for decades.

Ryan Frank is a 23 year writer and blogger living in San Diego, CA.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/why-makes-bamboo-green-1562261.html

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