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Vernell Steakley
located in the dense bamboo forest alongside the simeng river of quingshen county, the bentu used three clustered branches to create the foundations of the nests which tower 3.5 meters from the ground. the branches are then split to create multiple threads which are woven together create the spherical shape of the nests.
In a remarkable stride toward global outreach, Ningbo Shilin Arts and Crafts, a leading bamboo-focused enterprise in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, is making waves with its commitment to promoting "bamboo culture" on the international stage.
With a comprehensive portfolio covering furniture, kitchen and bathroom utensils, household items and bamboo crafts, Ningbo Shilin Arts and Crafts products have found their way into several international markets, including the United States, Germany and Sweden, representing 67 percent of Ningbo's bamboo product exports.
The company's mission is to amplify the power of "bamboo culture" globally. Every product represents the materials from Ningbo and the rich cultural heritage of China, and in an era of economic globalization, Ningbo Shilin Arts and Crafts is actively participating in international conferences and events to tell the captivating story of bamboo.
Wang Xiaoqing, general manager of the company, has participated in live online events organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, delivering compelling speeches on the future of the bamboo industry. Fluent in English, she emphasizes the beauty and significance of Ningbo bamboo, and her participation in events like the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the World Forestry Congress reflects the company's commitment to promoting Chinese bamboo culture on a global scale.
A distinctive feature of Shilin's global strategy is the creation of exclusive souvenirs with a Chinese touch. At international exhibitions, the company often gifts clients and friends with crafted bamboo souvenirs, including carved Maitreya Buddha pendants and scenic bamboo fans, showcasing the unique charm of Chinese bamboo culture. "These souvenirs are not just products; they are a representation of the elegance and craftsmanship rooted in Ningbo," Wang said.
To further enhance its global presence, the company has strategically aligned itself with renowned international brands, including Germany's Zwilling, Sweden's Ikea, and US retail giant Costco. This collaboration has elevated the company's competitiveness while establishing it as a well-known exporter of cultural bamboo products.
As Ningbo Shilin Arts and Crafts continues its journey of promoting bamboo culture globally, it aims to continually invite experts and scholars from around the world to conduct research and host thematic seminars in Ningbo, further increasing its international influence.
Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex H. de Lehaie) is a monopodial giant bamboo widely distributed in southern China and neighboring countries, such as Japan and Korea17. As a highly representative plantation forest in the subtropical region of China, the Moso bamboo forest is currently the most important source of non-wood forest products in China18. The forest covers an area of 3.87 million ha, representing 70% of the Chinese bamboo forest area and 80% of the global distribution of Moso bamboo18,19. Due to the enormous ecological and socioeconomic benefits, Moso bamboo forests have expanded rapidly in subtropical China, with an annual increase of 3% in recent decades18.
To maintain high productivity in Moso bamboo plantations and maximize the economic benefits, increasing numbers of farmers are adopting intensive management (IM) practices, such as the regular removal of understory vegetation, plowing and fertilization18,25. Typically, conventional management (CM) consists of regularly harvesting bamboo trunks and shoots, without any other management practices25. IM practices have increased bamboo production but reduced soil microbial functional diversity26,27. Moreover, the IM practice has also accelerated soil organic carbon mineralization28,29, influenced N and P release from decomposing litter30, altered soil nutrient availability31 and thus affected bamboo nutrient balance. Our previous investigation showed that IM practices increased Moso bamboo foliar N and P concentrations32.
In this study, we investigated the variation of foliar N and P concentrations in Moso bamboo at different ages under IM and CM practices after exposure to simulated N deposition for two years. The objectives are to examine (1) how foliar N and P stoichiometry responds to management practices, (2) how foliar N and P stoichiometry responds to increasing N deposition and (3) whether the effects of N deposition on foliar stoichiometry depend on management practices and growth stage.
In contrast to temperate ecosystems, tropical forests are generally considered N-rich but P-poor38. Han et al.39 also found that soil P was lower in subtropical areas than in temperate areas in China, which led to a similar pattern in foliar P, indicating a strong P limitation in subtropical China. In the present study, under N-free conditions, the significantly larger foliar P and smaller N:P ratios in both soil and mature bamboo, together with significantly larger foliar N in young bamboo upon IM treatments than upon CM, indicated that both N and P elements were deficient in the CM Moso bamboo forests. Our results corroborate the fact that current IM practices, especially fertilization, provide available N and P elements to Moso bamboo.
Plant N and P contents vary with the growth stage1,10,40. In the present study, the significantly greater foliar N and P in young bamboo than mature bamboo (Table 1, Fig. 1) indicated that young bamboo had a higher demand for N and P elements because after completing fast height and volume growth within two months, young bamboo begins a slow accumulation of dry matter18,22 and needs more N and P elements in its leaves to complete the primary production process. Moreover, when there is not sufficient N or P in CM plots, these elements are preferentially provided to young bamboo through underground rhizomes that connect young and mature bamboo and transfer nutrients among them17,21.
Young bamboo foliar N:P ratios in the range of 18 to 20 did not show significant variation among N addition rates or management treatments (Fig. 1f), indicating that young bamboo had an intrinsically higher foliar N:P ratio than mature bamboo. Young bamboo contains higher foliar N and P concentrations than mature bamboo (Fig. 1) for more dry matter accumulation21,22. Moreover, the demand for N is greater than for P, which may result in a larger stable N:P ratio in young bamboo than in mature bamboo. Our findings indicate that the stable foliar N:P ratio may change with the Moso bamboo growth stage, being low for mature bamboo and high for young bamboo and the effects of N addition on the foliar N:P ratio also vary with the Moso bamboo growth stage. Three-way ANOVA confirmed this conclusion.
Increasing N deposition can act together with increasing atmospheric CO2 to improve the growth and productivity of forests and thus enhance carbon sequestration capacity56, which is favorable to IM Moso bamboo forests. In CM Moso bamboo forests, however, P limitations would significantly constrain the N deposition fertilization effects that improve C storage in biomass by promoting growth9. Therefore, it is recommended to apply fertilizer, especially phosphate fertilizer, to CM Moso bamboo forests.
In the local region, bamboo trunks are usually harvested after growing for 4 years. The present Moso bamboo stands only include two growth stages: young bamboo growing out in the spring of 2014 (one-year-old) and mature bamboo growing out in the spring of 2012 (three-year-old). Therefore, the two-year-old leaves (growing out during the spring of 2013 from mature bamboo emerging in 2012) and one-year-old leaves (growing out during the spring of 2014 from young bamboo emerging in 2014) all fell in the spring of 2015.
One-way ANOVA and least significant difference (LSD) multiple comparisons were used to determine the significance of differences between foliar N and P concentrations and mass-based N:P ratios among the four simulated N treatments in each plantation management type and growth stage, or between two plantation management types in each N treatment and growth stage, or among growth stages in each management type and N treatment. Similar statistical analyses were also used on soil N and P contents and N:P ratios among the four simulated N addition treatments in each plantation management type as well as between two plantation management types in each N treatment. The results showed that the assumptions of homogeneity of variance were met. A three-way ANOVA method was used to test the effect of the interaction of three factors (i.e., N addition, management practices and growth stage) on foliar stoichiometry. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to test the correlation of foliar N and P concentrations between young and mature bamboo and of soil and leaf stoichiometry. All analyses were conducted using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 16.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois).
How to cite this article: Song, X. et al. Management practices regulate the response of Moso bamboo foliar stoichiometry to nitrogen deposition. Sci. Rep. 6, 24107; doi: 10.1038/srep24107 (2016).
Penda has also unveiled a concept for a moveable modular hotel made from bamboo rods that can be expanded upwards or sideways according to need, based on the tepees of Native Americans. Connected with ropes, the joints form a series of triangular shapes that have a minimal imprint on the site where they are erected. They can be added and slotted together like Lego, the lack of nails making the hotel easy to dismantle and reuse elsewhere, or to recycle.
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