Compared to the typical forest plantation, it is said that bamboo will capture 35% more CO2 than the same area of forest. This information is hard to determine as is not a general statement: it will depend in both the tree and bamboo species. But no doubt about it bamboo has a special quality: to renew plantation there’s no need to cut the whole forest, and that’s because the bamboo is not a tree, it’s more related to grasses, only growing vertically. With that in mind, when a lawn is mowed, it stimulates the rhizomes (radical system of grasses) to grow new leaves. In bamboo, “mowing” the shoots or upper parts of the plant has the exact same effect, it stimulates the plant to generate new shoots, the only difference is that this shoots can grow between 6 to 30 meters high depending on the species. Also known as the “vegetable steel”, bamboo is used for construction around the World, being Guadua angustifolia the most renowned species in the field. Bamboo projects by the Foundation range from nursing plants to developing products that both meet carbon sequestration and revenue to low income population.
