The guadua bamboo forests in the Coffee region of Colombia: beyond of carbon sequestration 

Juan Carlos Camargo G.

Some reflections: From research and 

possibilities of bamboo to provide ecosystems 

services...

Contents

1.

Context and bamboo forests (guadua)

2. Bamboo forests and ecosystems services 

3. Bamboo (guadua) and carbon sequestration

4. Final considerations

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

1. Context…

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Area•

2.500.000 ha (aprox)

Elevation•

900 -

2000 m.s.m

States•

Quindío•

Risaralda•

Caldas•

Valle•

Tolima

Precipitation (annual average)

1500 -

2500 mm

Temperature (annual average)

18 -

26°C

Soils•

Andisols•

Inceptisols•

Mollisols

/Alfisols

Pac

ific

Oce

an

Pac

ific

Oce

an

PanamPanamáá

Caribbean SeaCaribbean Sea

EcuadorEcuador

PeruPeru BrasilBrasil

VenezuelaVenezuelaCoffee RegionCoffee Region

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

The original forest cover was transformed by farmers, first to coffee plantations and thereafter to pastures (with negative consequences).

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Within a matrix of pastures theremnants of forest are dominatedby the bamboo species Guaduaangustifolia....

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Guadua angustifolia in the coffee region of Colombia

Distributed from 900 up to 2000 m

According to the last inventory 28000 ha (Kleinn & Morales 2006)

Mostly (97%) natural

Different in terms of structure and floristic composition (Ospina 2002, Camargo & Cardona 2005)

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Pattern highly fragmented: 

Riparian forests...

2. Guadua bamboo forests and ecosystems services 

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

• Remnants of forests

• Fragmented

• Riparian

Contribute to enhance their value

J.C. Camargo

Soil protection 

300

305

310

315

320

325

330

Guadua Pasture

SWEC

 (m3ha

 ‐1)

Soil water storage capacity ( m3 ha-1) A) and Hydraulic conductivity (cm hour-1) B) ofsoils under guadua bamboo forests and pastures. Coffee region of Colombia

A) B)

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

0

5

10

15

20

25

Guadua Pasture

HC cm

 hora 

‐1

0‐5 cm

5‐10cm

10‐15 cm

15‐30 cm

05

101520253035404550

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0

Mpa

Dep

th (c

m)

Soil compaction 2007 Soil compaction 2002

Changes in soil compaction after planting guadua. Coffee region of Colombia

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

J.C. Camargo

Biodiversity conservation...

Biodiversity values registered within guadua bamboo forests

Organisms Number of 

speciesSource Observations

Vegetation 63 Ospina

(2002) Dbh

> 10 cm

Vegetation 182 Ospina

(2002) Dbh

< 10 cm

Birds 69 Fajardo

et al. (2009)

Bats 5 Perez et al. (2009)

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

About 70% of plants biodiversityin this area is confined withinguadua bamboo patches .

Organisms fulfil ecologicalfunctions and provide benefits tosurrounding agroecosystems.

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Contribution to the ecological restoration

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

3. Bamboo and carbon sequestration:

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

may bamboo really contribute to mitigate climate change?

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Species Culms ha-1 C t ha-1 Reference

Guadua angustifolia 11827 20,9 (7 años) Camargo 2012Bambusa oldhammi 10101 51,98* (7 años) Castañeda-Mendoza et al. 2005Phyllostachys heterocycla 40.6* Tian-Ming y Joou-Shian. 2011Phyllostachys heterocycla 9,9 - 34.16* Xiaojun X. et al. 2011Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens) 37,1 Huaqiang, et al. 2011

Phyllostachys pubescens 3300 3,1** (10 años) Lou et al. 2010Phyllostachys pubescens 91*(5-8 años) Isagi et al. 1997Bambusa bambos 149* (6 años) Shanmughavel et al. , 2002C = carbon * = Above ground carbon ; ** = Average of net anual carbon ; age in parentheses

“The answer is yes”

As bamboo culms die after 10 or 12 years (G. anstutifolia)  and consequently decay. 

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

However that’s not enough :

CO2  ‐Products‐Durability 

Beyond of the bamboo capacity to fix CO2, there is an economical interest...

• Standards •Approaches•Good estimates

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Critical factors of biomass estimates

• Species

• Growth pattern

• Density (culms per ha)

• Maturity or age (plantation vs. natural)

• Losses

• Approaches

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Growth pattern...

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Consequences:

• Mensuration should be adjusted in inventories

• Expression of growth and productivity should be modified

• Specific models and factors should be developed

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Density of culms per ha

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Distribution of stand density of sampled field plots. G.angustifolia inventory coffee region of Colombia.

1300 2500 3700 4900 6100 7300 8500 9700 10900 12100 13300 14500 15700

Density classes (number of culms per ha)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

No.

of o

bser

vatio

ns

Density of culms per ha

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Culms per ha within a plantation of G. angustifolia. Coffeeregion of Colombia.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

culm

s ha

‐1

Years after planting

Maturity of culms:

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Total and above-ground biomass of a G. angustifolia.Plantation . Coffee region of Colombia.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Culm maturity  considered Culm maturity  not considered

t ha‐1

Above‐Ground Biomass Total biomass

Age (plantation vs natural):

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Average basal diameter of new and largest culms of G. angustifolia plantation . Coffee region of Colombia.

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

cm

Years after planting

YearBasal 

diameter % of Total1 1,7 622 2,4 203 3,0 54 3,6 125 4,6 26 4,4 437 5,0 1

Age (plantation vs. natural):

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Diameter distribution for the total number of sampled culms. The empiricaldistribution and the fitted Weibull function (n=6242). G. angustifolia. Naturalstands coffee region of Colombia

0.000.020.040.060.080.100.120.140.160.180.20

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

d (cm)

Rel

ativ

e fr

eque

ncy…

. Empirical distributionEstimated Weibull

Losses:

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

New (shoots) and estimated dead culms per clump over time, comparedaccumulated precipitation (mm) during the time prior to data gathering.Vertical bars indicate the standard error

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

0 90 180 270 360 450 540 630

Days after planting

Cul

ms

per c

lum

p.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Prec

ipita

tion

(mm

) .

New culms per clump Estimated dead culms per clump Precipitation

Approaches

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Biomass t ha-1 of natural bamboo forestsestimated by difference approaches: Fromdestructive samples, fitting allometric modeland BEF (volume, wood density).

0

50

100

150

200

250

Measured Allometric model Inventory(BEF)

t ha‐1

Remote sensing images...

8,6 m

In the framework of REDD+:Forest degradation and deforestation should  be 

demonstrated:     

Pressure  from nearby land uses?

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Urban expansion

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Degradation  associated with management?

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Harvest is done on selected  culms (low 

scale)

Opportunities from forest  governance and forest planning

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

Forest Governance Forest Certification

Experiences with Local 

governments

Proper Management

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.

4. Final considerations• Good estimates = good information= better decisions

• Guadua

forests are more than carbon: other ecosystems  services, products.

• Guadua

products are the key for maintaining carbon stored  (stable)

•The so called here: critical factors on bamboo carbon  estimates, should be studied and analysed. Research should be 

addressed to these topics. 

• Forest planning and forest governance can contribute with  REDD initiatives. Camargo,  J.C. & 

Arango,  A.M.

Thanks¡

Camargo,  J.C. & Arango,  A.M.