Bamboo is a grass, a huge yet modest herbaceous plant in the grass family (Poaceae) with some unique characteristics: Individual plants of some species grow from 70 cm to a meter (27.5 inches and 39.3 inches). . Capable of capturing three to four times more carbon dioxide per day than other plants, it blooms every 100 to 150 years on average but then dies off, its roots no deeper than 100 cm (39.3 in), although tall when it matures , its stems can reach 25 meters (82.02 ft) in just three years, and they can provide shade up to 60 times the area, but no more than 3 square meters. Manuel Trillo and Antonio Vega-Rioja, two biologists trained at the University of Seville in southern Spain, have created Europe’s first certified non-invasive bamboo nursery. Their lab is a botanical lab for exploring and applying all the benefits a plant has to offer, but people’s preconceptions about these benefits are more ingrained than the plant’s roots.
There are hotels, houses, schools and bamboo bridges. The fastest growing grass in the world, this grass provides food, oxygen, and shade, and is capable of lowering environmental temperatures by up to 15 degrees Celsius compared to surfaces illuminated by sunlight. However, it bears the false burden of being considered an invasive species, despite the fact that only about 20 of the more than 1,500 identified species are considered invasive, and only in certain regions.
“Prejudice arises from confusing origin with behavior. Potatoes, tomatoes and oranges are also not native to Europe, but they are not invasive. Unlike herbs, bamboo roots are in the center. It produces only one stem [branch from the same leg, flowers or thorns],” Vega Rioja said.
Vega Rioja’s father, a technical architect, became interested in these factories. He passed on his passion to his son as a biologist and, together with his partner Manuel Trillo, set up an ecological plant laboratory to study and present these plants as ornamental, industrial and bioclimatic elements. This is the place of origin of La Bambuseria, located a few kilometers from the capital of Andalusia, and the first non-invasive bamboo nursery in Europe.
“We collected 10,000 seeds, 7,500 of which germinated, and selected about 400 for their characteristics,” explains Vega Rioja. In his plant laboratory, covering just one hectare (2.47 acres) in the fertile valley of the Guadalquivir River, he exhibits various species adapted to different climatic conditions: some of them can withstand temperatures down to -12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Celsius). Fahrenheit). temperatures and survive the winter storms of the Philomena, while others grow in deserts. The large green area contrasts with neighboring sunflower and potato farms. The temperature of the asphalt road at the entrance was 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature in the nursery was 25.1 degrees Celsius (77.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
Even though about 50 workers are harvesting potatoes less than 50 meters from the hotel, only bird calls can be heard inside. The advantages of bamboo as a sound-absorbing material have been carefully studied and research has shown that it is a suitable sound-absorbing material.
But the potential of this herbal giant is enormous. Bamboo, which forms the basis of the giant panda’s diet and even its appearance, has been present in human life since ancient times, according to Scientific Reports.
The reason for this persistence is that in addition to being a food source, its special structure, analyzed in the National Science Review study, has not been overlooked by people. The device has been used in various designs or to save energy up to 20% when transporting heavy loads using simple supports. “These wonderful yet simple tools can reduce the manual labor of users,” explains Ryan Schroeder of the University of Calgary in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Another article published in GCB Bioenergy describes how bamboo can be a resource for renewable energy development. “Bioethanol and biochar are the main products that can be obtained,” explains Zhiwei Liang from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The key to bamboo’s versatility is the spatial distribution of the fibers in its hollow cylinder, which has been optimized to enhance its strength and bending ability. “Mimicking the lightness and strength of bamboo, an approach called biomimicry, has been successful in solving many problems in materials development,” said Motohiro Sato of Hokkaido University, who is also the author of the Plos One study. Because of this, bamboo’s water-containing membranes make it the fastest growing plant in the world, and this has inspired a team of researchers at the Queensland University of Technology to develop more efficient battery electrodes for faster charging.
The range of uses and applications of bamboo is huge, from the production of biodegradable kitchenware to the production of bicycles or furniture in all areas of architecture. Two Spanish biologists have already embarked on this path. “We have never given up on research,” said Trillo, who must supplement his knowledge of biology with knowledge of agriculture. The researchers admit that they could not have carried out the project without his tutelage, which he received from his neighbor Emilio Jiménez with a practical master’s degree.
The commitment to botanical laboratories has made Vega-Rioja the first legal bamboo exporter in Thailand. He and Trillo continue to experiment with crossbreeding to produce plants with specific traits depending on their use or growing area, or scour the world for unique seeds that can cost up to $10 each to produce up to 200 nursery varieties.
One application with immediate potential and significant short-term effects is the creation of insect-resistant shaded green spaces in certain areas where bioclimatic solutions can be achieved with minimal soil use (bamboo can even be planted in a swimming pool) without damage. built-up area.
They talk about areas near highways, school campuses, industrial estates, open plazas, residential fences, boulevards, or areas devoid of vegetation. They claim bamboo not as an alternative solution for native flora, but as a surgical tool for spaces that require rapid vegetation cover. This helps capture as much carbon dioxide as possible, provides 35% more oxygen, and lowers temperatures by 15 degrees Celsius in extreme environmental conditions.
Prices range from €70 ($77) to €500 ($550) per meter of bamboo, depending on the cost of producing the plants and the uniqueness of the species desired. Grass can provide a structure that will last hundreds of years, with a lower cost per square meter of construction, higher water consumption in the first three years, and much lower water consumption after maturation and dormancy.
They can back up this claim with scientific weapons. For example, a study of 293 European cities published in the journal Nature found that urban spaces, even when they are green, condense two to four times more heat than spaces covered with trees or tall plants. bamboo forests capture carbon dioxide than other types of forests.
Post time: Aug-14-2023
