Manila, Philippines - The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) is advocating planting more bamboos along riverbanks to prevent soil erosion and mitigate flooding.
According to the newly formed Department of Science and Technology agency, riverbanks are vulnerable to soil erosion because they lack vegetative cover.
The situation is made worse by upland deforestation and unsustainable land use practices, PCAARRD said.
“Unstable riverbanks are ticking time bombs that can take lives and damage properties of the communities living nearby,” the agency warned.
Bamboo stands, PCAARRD said, “can be used as hedges against soil erosion and forest cover to rehabilitate the degraded environment.”
The bamboo plant also has “environmental perks” to offer: it can sequester 12 tons of carbon from the air per hectare and generate 35 percent more oxygen compared to other trees.
The bamboo’s root system and canopy, which are spread wide, make the plant effective at erosion control. “The net-like root system of bamboo holds the soil together in critical riverbanks, deforested areas, and even in places prone to earthquakes and landslides,” PCAARRD said, noting that the roots also keep twice as much water in the watershed.
The agency also pointed out that the litter that accumulates on the forest floor prevents soil erosion by “greatly” reducing rain runoff.
The common species in Abra are buho (Schizostachyum lumampao), puser (Cyrtochloa puser) and bikal (Dinochloa sp.), while kawayan tinik (Bambusa blumeana) is plentiful in Iloilo.
Bukidnon has giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper), bolo (Gigantochloa levis), bayog (Bambusa sp. 1), and kawayan kiling (Bambusa vulgaris) while in Davao del Norte, there are laak (Bambusa philippinensis), kawayan tinik, buho, bayog and kayali (Gigantochloa atter).
To stabilize soil and protect an area from landslides, the PCAARRD said bamboo plants should be planted closer together. The agency said various species of bamboo can be planted in an area, and “fast-growing timber species” can also be added to the mix.