State of the art of Indonesian Bamboo - Elizabeth A. Widjaja Professor, Herbarium Bogoriense, Puslitbang Biologi - LIPI, Bogor, Indonesia Introduction Indonesia is botanically one of the richest countries in the world. This is partly due to its large size, which also reflects the legacy of a complex geological history, the existence of many islands with many endemic species and the climate is suitable for plant growth in many parts of the Archipelago. The nation includes more than 17 000 islands with total land area of 1 811 570 km2. The cultivated area is about 212 600 km2, whereas the forested area is 1 197 005 km2 (63%), pasture area 118 000 km2, and other lands are 283 965 km2. There are seven biogeographic regions in Indonesia, which are centered on the major islands and groups, including Sumatra, Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Natuna and Anambas islands, Sulawesi and many offshore islands including Sula, Nusa Tenggara (the Lesser Sunda Islands), Maluku, Irian Jaya including the Kei and Aru Islands (State Min. of Env. & Konphalindo 1995). The climate of Indonesia is mostly tropical monsoon type with high temperature and humidity with rainfall of 1500 mm in eastern islands (Nusa Tenggara) and 3000 mm in western islands (ever wet or semi wet climates). Seasonal rainfall patterns play an important role in determining forest formations. Rain forests occur where there is no dry season, or a short and variable one of about two months. Stronger seasonal climates support a group of forest formations known collectively as monsoon or seasonal forests. Forest disturbances are determined by the moisture content of the soil and can be classified according to whether the ground is generally dry or whether it is permanently or periodically wet. Indonesia has about 47 distinct natural ecosystems. It harbours the third largest tropical forest in the world, with diverse forest ecosystems ranging from tropical lowland and highland rainforest to peat swamp, freshwater swamp and mangrove forests. Lowland dipterocarp forests are found in Kalimantan and Sumatra, seasonal monsoon forest and savanna grasslands in Nusa Tenggara, and non dipterocarp lowland and alpine forests in Irian Jaya. Extensive peat swamp and freshwater swamp forests are found in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Irian Jaya. Kalimantan also harbours the largest area of heath (kerangas) forests in Southeast Asia while Sulawesi has the most extensive forests on ultrabasic rocks in the world. Lower and upper montane forests as well as alpine vegetation occur on the highest mountains of Java, Irian Jaya and Sumatra. Indonesia has one of the highest rate of species and generic endemism in the world. This is because many islands in the country have been isolated for long periods from one another, thus evolving local endemic species which are unique to each island. A high rate of endemism occurs in Sulawesi, Irian Jaya and in the Mentawai islands off the west coast of Sumatra. The occurrence of bamboo in Indonesia extends from peat swamp area up to the highland at the altitude of 2500 m. However, the bamboo forest is mostly found in the disturbed forests except Dinochloa spp. which grow well in the primary and dipterocarp forests. According to the report published in 1990, the bamboo, nipah and sago forests covered about 2100 ha area. Bamboo forest found in Banyuwangi, East Java is about 26 000 ha, whereas in Gowa Sulawesi the area with bamboo cultivation for the paper mill is about 24 000 ha. Both areas have been changed to grow pines or Albizzia trees, and no more bamboo forest left in this area. According to the bamboo inventory in Indonesia, there are about 3925.9 ha of bamboo in Bandung district and about 1972.77 ha in Garut district. The bamboo forest in Balai RLKT IV is about 7569.75 ha, and Bali about 125 ha. According to Suryokusumo the total bamboo forest in Sulawesi Selatan is 46 035.47 ha mostly in Tana Toraja, Maros and Gowa, Ujung Pandang and Pare-pare and other districts. The bamboo area in Sumbawa is about 25 000 ha. Based on these data it can be said that there is no record on the total quantity of the bamboo forests present on all the islands in Indonesia. Because of the development of housing, agricultural and industrial areas, many of the bamboo habitats have been totally cleared leadin to depletion of species. When a bamboo species is useful for the local people, they conserve that species carefully and other species tend to disappear. Bamboo genera and species It is recorded that there are about 1250 species found in the world, and Indonesia has 135 species that belong to 21 genera (Widjaja 1997a, b). Seventeen species among them are introduced ones for ornamental purposes, widely planted; 9 species are propagated in the botanical gardens. Five cultivars of Dendrocalamus asper, 3 cultivars of Gigantochloa atter, 4 cultivars of Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea, 2 cultivars of Gigantochloa apus, 8 cultivars of bambu jajang are common. Due to selection and domestication, several species and cultivars are conserved, but the unused species may get depleted very soon. The genera Nastus and Racemobambos grow only in the highland, whereas the other genera are mostly found from the lowland up to the highland. Species in western Indonesia have a bigger diameter than the species grown in the eastern part. Bambusa, Dendrocalamus and Gigantochloa grow more widely in western Indonesia, than in eastern Indonesia. The genus Schizostachyum grows more abundantly in eastern Indonesia. Dinochloa, the climbing bamboo, grows dominantly in Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The important species for the whole of Indonesia are Bambusa blumeana, Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa maculata, Dendrocalamus asper, Gigantochloa apus, Gigantochloa atter, Gigantochloa atroviolacea, Gigantochloa hasskarliana, Gigantochloa hirtinoda, Gigantochloa kuring, Gigantochloa luteostriata, Gigantochloa nigrociliata, Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea, Gigantochloa robusta, Gigantochloa serik, Gigantochloa tomentosa, Neololeba atra, Neololeba hirsuta, Nastus elatus, Racemobambos raynaldii, Schizostachyum aequiramosum, Schizostachyum atrocingulare, Schizostachyum bamban, Schizostachyum brachycladum, Schizostachyum castaneum, Schizostachyum cuspidatum, Schizostachyum glaucocladum, Schizostachyum irraten, Schizostachyum longispiculatum, Schizostachyum mampouw, Schizostachyum zollingeri and others. According to Widjaja (1997b), there are 70 endemic species shown in Table 1. So far there is no record which bamboo species are endangered or threatened. Although several bamboo forests are known, there is no assessment of the total bamboo resources available in Indonesia. However, based on the experience in the field, it is recorded that Kerinci Seblat National Park (Sumatra) has large bamboo forest, beside that Alas Purwo National Park (Java), Meru Betiri National Park (Java), Langkat District (Sumatra), Loksado (Central Kalimantan), West Sumbawa (Lesser Sunda Island), Maros (South Sulawesi), Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (Sumatra) etc. The species present in different conservation areas are shown (Table 1). Conservation Bamboo has been conserved by in situ and ex situ methods as shown in Table 1 and it is hoped that plants will be conserved in these areas in future. The local people are paid by the business people to collect bamboos from the forests without a permit. Many of the bamboo forests in the protected areas and national parks are over exploited. To conserve the rich biological resources, the Government of Indonesia has conserved 10% of the land area (about nineteen million ha) as protected areas, divided into many categories: national park, nature reserve, recreation park, game reserve, hunting reserve, grand forest park, marine nature reserve, marine recreation park. Only a few of the protected areas have been well investigated. About 51.8% of the endemic bamboo species (Widjaja 1997b) and more than 75% of the native Indonesian bamboo species are present in the protected areas. Bambusa jajang, Dendrocalamus buar, Dendrocalamus hait, Dinochloa glabrescens, Gigantochloa manggong, Gigantochloa kuring, Nastus elegantissimus, Racemobambos raynaldii are some of the endemic species (Widjaja 1995). Beside the in situ conservation areas, there are several ex situ conservation facilities, such as botanical gardens, university gardens (such as IPB), general germplasm gardens (PUSPIPTEK, Serpong), Department Forestry Arboreta (Arcamanik and Haur Bentes), private gardens (GPC, NGO) and others. Table 1 shows the species found in these ex situ conservation areas. About 64 species of bamboo are conserved in the botanical gardens. The second conservation facilities available is GPC garden (a private garden belonging to a business man). Bamboo is mostly planted in the homestead or backyard, and also in the village garden. The bamboos used by the local people are planted in their gardens, but not others. The indigenous knowledge on bamboo has been known for ages. The bamboos are used from the beginning of human life when they cut the umbillical cord with bamboo knife, make bamboo bed, cabinet, cooking utensils, to construct bridges and houses, several handicrafts and the coffins. The Hindus in Bali use bamboos for the ceremony penjor, and also for burial ceremony during ngaben. Bamboo is very close to the heart of the local people. Because of that there is much folklore and folksongs using bamboos as symbols. Beside, bamboo is also used to make musical instruments used during cultural events. Bamboo can be conserved by seed, but it is difficult to find the seeds in the field. The genera Bambusa, Dendrocalamus and Gigantochloa do not produce seeds easily. There are only a few records on seed production in Indonesia such as Gigantochloa hasskarliana. If seeds are not available, bamboos can be conserved by tissue culture method. The Yayasan Lingkungan Asri Berseri based in Bali is a private foundation that promotes bamboo tissue culture. But propagation by tissue culture is not so urgent at the moment because vegetative propagation method is still cheaper and easy. It may be necessary to conserve the endemic species by tissue culture or to conserve bamboos that are not easy to propagate vegetatively. Genetic improvement Populations of bamboo in Indonesia are scattered. Some are planted on a large scale such as in Loksado-Central Kalimantan, Langkat etc. because people are aware about the uses and the economic value of bamboos. The useful bamboos will be conserved by the local people and not so useful ones will be ignored. But genetic erosion affects not only between the species but also among the species. There is no study done in Indonesia on cytogenetics, genetic variation, genetic improvement, phenology and hybridization. However, natural hybridization occurs in the field when Dendrocalamus asper, Dendrocalamus latiflorus and Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea flower at the same time and in the same locality. Hybrid seeds were obtained and plants raised. Several clumps show a combination characters of D. asper x D. latiflorus, D. asper x Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea, D. asper x D. latiflorus x G. pseudoarundinacea. Several mutants occured and leaves became albino or green with white stripes. Table 1. Bamboos present in the conservation areas Species 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1. Arundinaria amabilis* 1 2. Arundinaria hindsii* 1 3. Bambusa angulata* 1 4. Bambusa balcooa* 1 5. Bambusa bambos** 1 1 6. Bambusa blumeana 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7. Bambusa brevispicula*** 8. Bambusa glaucophylla** 1 1 1 1 1 9. Bambusa heterostachya 1 1 1 1 10. Bambusa jajang*** 1 1 11. Bambusa lako*** 12. Bambusa maculata 1 1 13. Bambusa multiplex** 1 1 1 1 1 13.a. B.m. “alphonsokarr”** 1 1 1 13.b. B.m. “fernleaf”** 1 1 1 13.c. B.m. riviereorum*** 1 1 1 13.d. B.m. “silver stripe”** 1 1 14. Bambusa oldhamii** 15. Bambusa polymorpha* 1 16. Bambusa riauensis*** 1 1 17. Bambusa tulda* 1 18. Bambusa tuldoides** 1 1 1 1 19. Bambusa viridis*** 20. Bambusa vulgaris 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 21. Cephalostachyum pergacile** 1 1 22. Chimonobambusa marmorea* 1 23. Dendrocalamus asper 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 24. Dendrocalamus bengkalisensis*** 25. Dendrocalamus brandisii** 1 1 26. Dendrocalamus buar*** 1 27. Dendrocalamus giganteus** 1 1 1 28. Dendrocalamus hait*** 1 1 29. Dendrocalamus hirtellus 30. Dendrocalamus latiflorus** 1 1 31. Dendrocalamus membranaceus** 1 1 32. Dendrocalamus strictus** 1 1 33. Dinochloa albociliata*** 34. Dinochloa barbata*** 35. Dinochloa cordata*** 36. Dinochloa darvelana 37. Dinochloa erecta*** 38. Dinochloa glabrescens*** 1 39. Dinochloa hirsuta*** 40. Dinochloa kostermansiana*** 41. Dinochloa pubiramea 42. Dinochloa scabrida 43. Dinochloa scandens 1 44. Dinochloa trichogona 45. Dinochloa truncata*** 46. Dinochloa sp1. (pusila)*** 47. Dinochloa sp2. (pinogua)*** 48. Dinochloa sp3. 1 49. Fimbribambusa horsfieldii*** 1 50. Fimbribambusa microcephala 51. Gigantochloa achmadii*** 1 52. Gigantochloa apus 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 53. Gigantochloa atroviolacea 1 1 1 1 54. Gigantochloa atter 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 55. Gigantochloa balui 1 1 56. Gigantochloa calcicola*** 1 1 1 1 1 1 57. Gigantochloa hasskarliana 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 58. Gigantochloa hirtinoda*** 59. Gigantochloa kuring*** 1 1 1 1 60. Gigantochloa longiprophylla*** 61. Gigantochloa luteostriata*** 62. Gigantochloa manggong*** 1 63. Gigantochloa magenta*** 64. Gigantochloa membranoidea*** 1 1 1 1 65. Gigantochloa nigrociliata 1 66. Gigantochloa papyracea*** 67. Gigantochloa pruriens*** 68. Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea 1 1 1 1 1 1 69. Gigantochloa pubinervis*** 1 70. Gigantochloa pubipetiolata*** 71. Gigantochloa ridleyi 72. Gigantochloa robusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 73. Gigantochloa scortechinii 1 1 1 74. Gigantochloa serik*** 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 75. Gigantochloa cf.. thoii 76. Gigantochloa tomentosa*** 77. Gigantochloa velutina*** 1 1 1 1 1 78. Gigantochloa wrayi 79. Gigantochloa sp1.*** 1 80. Gigantochloa sp2,*** 1 81. Melocanna baccifera** 1 1 82. Nastus elatoides*** 83. Nastus elegantissimus*** 1 1 84. Nastus glaucus*** 85. Nastus holttumianus*** 86. Nastus obtusus 87. Nastus productus 88. Nastus reholttumianus*** 89. Nastus rudimentifer 90. Nastus schmutzii*** 91. Neololeba amahussana*** 92. Neololeba anarita*** 93. Neololeba atra 1 1 1 1 1 94. Neololeba glabra*** 95. Neololeba hirsuta 96. Oxytenanthera abyssinica* 1 97. Parabambusa kaini*** 98. Phyllostachys aurea** 1 1 1 1 98.a. Ph.a. var. flavescence-inverse** 99. Phyllostachys nigra** 1 1 100. Pleiobastus chino var. vaginatus* 1 101. Pinga marginata*** 102. Racemobambos celebica*** 103. Racemobambos ceramica*** 104. Racemobambos kutaiensis*** 105. Racemobambos raynaldii*** 106. Racemobambos rupicola*** 107. Racemobambos schultzii*** 108. Racemobambos sessilis*** 109. Schizostachyum aequiramosum*** 110. Schizostachyum alopecurus*** 111. Schizostachyum atrocingulare 1 1 1 1 1 112. Schizostachyum bamban*** 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 113. Schizostachyum blumei 1 114. Schizostachyum brachycladum 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 115. Schizostachyum castaneum*** 1 1 116. Schizostachyum caudatum*** 1 1 1 117. Schizostachyum cornutum*** 118. Schizostachyum cuspidatum*** 1 1 119. Schizostachyum flexuosum.*** 120. Schizostachyum lengguanii 1 1 1 121. Schizostachyum glaucocladum*** 1 1 1 1 1 122. Schizostachyum grande 1 1 123. Schizostachyum iraten 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 124. Schizostachyum latifolium 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 125. Schizostachyum lima 1 1 1 1 126. Schizostachyum lutescens*** 1 1 1 1 1 1 127. Schizostachyum mampouw*** 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 128. Schizostachyum silicatum 1 1 129. Schizostachyum terminale 1 130. Schizostachyum undulatum*** 131. Schizostachyum zollingeri 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 132. Semiarundinaria fastuosa** 1 133. Shibatea kumasaca** 1 134. Sphaerobambos subtilis*** 135. Thyrsostachys siamensis** 1 1 1 1 Total species 64 32 31 48 24 17 4 4 10 21 8 6 1 4 6 12 3 5 5 3 Endemic species 35 2 2 2 2 4 1 0 3 4 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Species 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1. Arundinaria amabilis* 2. Arundinaria hindsii* 3. Bambusa angulata* 4. Bambusa balcooa* 5. Bambusa bambos** 6. Bambusa blumeana 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7. Bambusa brevispicula** 8. Bambusa glaucophylla** 9. Bambusa heterostachya 10. Bambusa jajang** 11. Bambusa lako*** 12. Bambusa maculata 13. Bambusa multiplex** 1 13.a. B.m. “alphonsokarr”** 13.b. B.m. “fernleaf”** 13.c. B.m. riviereorum*** 13.d. B.m. “silver stripe”** 14. Bambusa oldhamii** 15. Bambusa polymorpha* 16. Bambusa riauensis*** 17. Bambusa tulda* 18. Bambusa tuldoides** 19. Bambusa viridis*** 20. Bambusa vulgaris 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 21. Cephalostachyum pergacile** 22. Chimonobambusa marmorea* 23. Dendrocalamus asper 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 24. Dendrocalamus bengkalisensis*** 25. Dendrocalamus brandisii** 26. Dendrocalamus buar*** 27. Dendrocalamus giganteus** 28. Dendrocalamus hait*** 29. Dendrocalamus hirtellus 30. Dendrocalamus latiflorus** 31. Dendrocalamus membranaceus** 32. Dendrocalamus strictus** 33. Dinochloa albociliata*** 34. Dinochloa barbata*** 1 35. Dinochloa cordata*** 36. Dinochloa darvelana 37. Dinochloa erecta*** 38. Dinochloa glabrescens*** 39. Dinochloa hirsuta*** 40. Dinochloa kostermansiana*** 1 41. Dinochloa pubiramea 1 42. Dinochloa scabrida 43. Dinochloa scandens 44. Dinochloa trichogona 45. Dinochloa truncata*** 46. Dinochloa sp1. (pusila)*** 1 47. Dinochloa sp2. (pinogua)*** 1 48. Dinochloa sp3. 1 49. Fimbribambusa horsfieldii*** 1 50. Fimbribambusa microcephala 1 51. Gigantochloa achmadii*** 52. Gigantochloa apus 1 1 1 53. Gigantochloa atroviolacea 1 54. Gigantochloa atter 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 55. Gigantochloa balui 56. Gigantochloa calcicola*** 57. Gigantochloa hasskarliana 58. Gigantochloa hirtinoda*** 59. Gigantochloa kuring*** 60. Gigantochloa longiprophylla*** 61. Gigantochloa luteostriata*** 62. Gigantochloa manggong*** 1 63. Gigantochloa magenta*** 64. Gigantochloa membranoidea*** 65. Gigantochloa nigrociliata 66. Gigantochloa papyracea*** 67. Gigantochloa pruriens*** 68. Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea 1 1 69. Gigantochloa pubinervis*** 70. Gigantochloa pubipetiolata*** 71. Gigantochloa ridleyi 72. Gigantochloa robusta 1 73. Gigantochloa scortechinii 74. Gigantochloa serik*** 75. Gigantochloa cf.. thoii 1 76. Gigantochloa tomentosa*** 77. Gigantochloa velutina*** 78. Gigantochloa wrayi 79. Gigantochloa sp1.*** 80. Gigantochloa sp2,*** 81. Melocanna baccifera** 82. Nastus elatoides*** 83. Nastus elegantissimus*** 84. Nastus glaucus*** 85. Nastus holttumianus*** 1 86. Nastus obtusus 87. Nastus productus 88. Nastus reholttumianus*** 89. Nastus rudimentifer 90. Nastus schmutzii*** 91. Neololeba amahussana*** 92. Neololeba anarita*** 1 93. Neololeba atra 1 1 1 1 1 1 94. Neololeba glabra*** 1 1 95. Neololeba hirsuta 96. Oxytenanthera abyssinica* 97. Parabambusa kaini*** 98. Phyllostachys aurea** 98.a. Ph.a. var. flavescence-inverse** 99. Phyllostachys nigra** 100. Pleiobastus chino var. vaginatus* 101. Pinga marginata*** 102. Racemobambos celebica*** 1 103. Racemobambos ceramica*** 1 104. Racemobambos kutaiensis*** 1 105. Racemobambos raynaldii*** 1 1 1 106. Racemobambos rupicola*** 107. Racemobambos schultzii*** 108. Racemobambos sessilis*** 109. Schizostachyum aequiramosum*** 1 110. Schizostachyum alopecurus*** 111. Schizostachyum atrocingulare 112. Schizostachyum bamban*** 113. Schizostachyum blumei 114. Schizostachyum brachycladum 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 115. Schizostachyum castaneum*** 116. Schizostachyum caudatum*** 117. Schizostachyum cornutum*** 118. Schizostachyum cuspidatum*** 119. Schizostachyum flexuosum.*** 120. Schizostachyum lengguanii 121. Schizostachyum glaucocladum*** 122. Schizostachyum grande 123. Schizostachyum iraten 124. Schizostachyum latifolium 125. Schizostachyum lima 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 126. Schizostachyum lutescens*** 127. Schizostachyum mampouw*** 128. Schizostachyum silicatum 1 129. Schizostachyum terminale 130. Schizostachyum undulatum*** 131. Schizostachyum zollingeri 1 132. Semiarundinaria fastuosa** 133. Shibatea kumasaca** 134. Sphaerobambos subtilis*** 135. Thyrsostachys siamensis** Total species 12 8 4 6 1 7 4 9 7 3 5 7 4 1 4 5 4 2 Endemic species 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 1 4 2 1 1 1 0 0 ** : Endemic species ** : Introduced bamboos * : Planted in the Botanical gardens 1. Botanical Garden 2. Arboretum Perhutani, Haur Bentes, Jasinga 3. Environment Bamboo Foundation 4. Great Giant Pineapple 5. Arboretum IPB 6. Bukit Barisan Selatan 7. Dolok sipirok 8. G. Leuser 9. G. Sago Melintang 10. Kerinci Seblat 11. Kerumutan 12. Lembah Anai 13. P. Simeuleu 14. Rafflesia Bengkulu 15. Rimbo Panti 16. Alas Purwo 17. Baluran 18. Gede-Pangrango 19. G. Muria 20. G. Tilu 21. Meru Betiri 22. Ujung Kulon 23. Bali Barat 24. Apo Kayan 25. Kutai 26. Ruteng 27. Bantimurung 28. Bogani Nani Wartabone 29. Lore Lindu 30. Morowali 31. Manusela 32. G. Lorents 33. Arfak 34. Jayawijaya 35. Wandamen 36. Biak Utara 37. Yapen 38. Wasur Propagation methods The local people propagate bamboos by rhizome cuttings and culms. The development of clump cutting is very slow compared to culm cutting. Propagation by seeds has never been done in Indonesia, because seeds are not available. It is also very rare to see the bamboo in flower in Indonesia. Even if they flower it is difficult to find the seed. Propagation by tissue culture has been done on a trial basis by the Yayasan Lingkungan Asri Berseri in Bali. There is a logging company in South Kalimantan which also planted bamboos produced by tissue culture. Sustainable utilization Sustainable utilization of bamboo in Indonesia has never been planned or practiced. There are some areas which have been over exploited. For example Banyuwangi and Panglipuran paper industry Gowa paper industry and others. When bamboos were exhausted they started planting pines and other trees. In Lampung, bamboo has been planted to prevent soil erosion in the pineapple gardens. After 8 years planting, bamboo culms were harvested for the paper factory. Widjaja suggested that 30% of the total number of culms may be harvested each year. In several areas bamboos have been planned for rehabilitation of the degraded areas such as in Merapi Mountain, Loksado and West Kalimantan. Beside rehabilitation of degraded areas, bamboos have been planted for soil and water resources conservation. Recently Leuser International Foundation is planning to plant bamboos for soil and water resources conservation. Besides bamboo brings economic benefit for the local people when it is planted in the buffer zone. Research in progress It is necessary to collect the species in various places including Moluccas Island, several areas in Irian Jaya, Lesser Sunda Island etc. to build up a total picture on bamboo biodiversity. A preliminary study on the evolution of bamboo using molecular systematics has been started. Conservation of bamboo in Indonesia has been planned using in situ and ex situ methods. The government of Indonesia has a five year plan for bamboo development with an action plan and this planning can be used for the future development. A study on the ecology of bamboo growing wild in the Halimun National Park is in progress to understand the biomass production of bamboo. Utilization and economic value The utilization of bamboo by the local people for handicraft, and a small bamboo industry has been developed such as chopstick, toothpick, paper, furniture and aska board. If the bamboo industry progresses well it will benefit the local people. Bamboo is still exported as raw material and in future the raw material will decrease rapidly when more of the materials are used locally for various industries. Research and development needs Further studies on cultivation methodology and utilization is urgently needed. So far cultivation methodology is not related to utilization of the bamboo. It is necessary to plant bamboo on degraded and marginal land. A study on the genetic variation of bamboos of Indonesia is important to determine the future uses especially when hybridization work of the bamboo is done. Although a preliminary study on the molecular systematic of bamboo has started, it is necessary to study the populations present in Indonesia as well as in Malesian region. Such data are necessary for the genetic improvement of bamboos. References Widjaja, E.A. 1995. Document on bamboo genetic resources in Indonesia. Report of FAO project No. 94729. Herbarium Bogoriense, Bogor. Widjaja, E.A. 1997a. Jenis-jenis bambu endemik dan konservasinya di Indonesia. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Biology XV. PBI & Universitas Lampung, Lampung. Widjaja, E.A. 1997b. Konservasi Flora Bambu Indonesia. Paper presented in the Syposium of Botanical Gardens, Bogor. bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/bioversity/publications/Web_version/572/ch26.htm
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:09:16 +0000
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