Vegetation Changes over Seven Years after Clear-cuttingof Bamboo Culms

Abstract

The area of bamboo groves in southwest Japan, comprised mainly of Phyllostachys pubescens, has recently increased. An alternative to these abandoned bamboo groves is their transition to broad-leaved forests. The vegetation transition to broad-leaved forests observed several years after clear-cutting are very important. We investigated the change in species composition after repeating P. pubescens culm cutting. We established four quadrate plots (10 × 10 m): clear-cutting bamboo culms, thinning bamboo culms, and two control sites. Regenerated bamboo culms appeared the next spring after clear-cutting. We concluded that in absence of continuous culm cutting, bamboo recovers after 3 years. We then cut the recovered bamboo culms; this clear-cutting site began to change into a broad-leaved forest. We suggest that a P. pubescens grove can be transitioned to a broad-leaved forest, using continuous selective cutting of the revived bamboo culms over several years.