permaculture

["Wordgarden" <wordgarden@iinet.net.au>]

I have a question. If all the bamboo dies after flowering, then the new
generation must come from the seeds. Yes?
If all the bamboo is harvested before flowering, as suggested in this
article, then there may not be much of the new generation of bamboo left.
This will surely be more of a disaster...

--Robert



> The life cycle of muli bamboo, the predominant species in India's
> northeast, is about 50 years. In 1959, the last time the bamboo forests
> of Mizoram flowered, the abundance of seeds produced by the plants...

<snip>

> One suggestion offered by the state government has been the preemptive
> harvesting of bamboo.

<snip>

> The Indian government, in an attempt to boost bamboo harvesting before
> flowering begins, ....

<snip>

> As ambitious as these initiatives are, the likelihood of staving off
> the disaster is slim. "Will we be prepared to deal with this by 2006?"
> asks Ranjan of the NID. "Unlikely. We must start planning now for the
> next flowering of the bamboo in 50 years. These are problems that will
> keep returning. They are part of the natural order."