New Delhi: Long-term passive rewilding can significantly increase biomass and nutrient stocks in Moso bamboo forests, despite the removal of fertiliser inputs and biomass harvesting, according to a study published in the Journal of Plant Ecology, The Times of India reported.
Researchers examined Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) forests that had undergone 0, 10, 20 and 30 years of rewilding and tracked the growth of more than 4,000 bamboo culms. The study found that 30 years of rewilding increased total bamboo biomass by 161%.
Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in bamboo increased by 165%, 242% and 379%, respectively. The corresponding increases in soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus pools were 78%, 79% and 94%.
The researchers examined nutrient concentrations, stoichiometric traits and nutrient stocks in leaves, twigs, stems and roots of young bamboo, defined as one-year-old plants, and mature bamboo, aged two to nine years. Nutrients in soil and microbial biomass were also measured.
The study, titled ‘Mature bamboo sustains young bamboo growth through internal nutrient redistribution during long-term forest rewilding’, found contrasting nutrient-use patterns between young and mature bamboo.
According to the researchers, nutrient variability declined in young bamboo, a pattern they described as homogenisation, while variability increased in mature bamboo, described as divergence. The findings suggest that young bamboo draws on a shared clonal nutrient pool, while mature bamboo accumulates nutrient reserves.
A path analysis identified nutrients in mature bamboo stems as the strongest biotic predictor of total bamboo biomass, with the relationship being statistically significant at P < 0.01.
The researchers identified two mechanisms supporting productivity during long-term rewilding. The first is the accumulation of nutrients in soil after harvesting and fertiliser application stop. The second is the redistribution of nutrients from mature bamboo to younger plants.
Together, these processes allow bamboo forests to shift from dependence on external fertilisation towards what the researchers describe as a “self-sustaining nutrient regime”.
The authors said the findings provide insights into nutrient cycling during forest rewilding and could have implications for the management of abandoned plantation forests.
