Bamboo diversity of North East India. Bamboo belongs to the Poaceae family. Bamboo has approximately 1200 species in the world. 25 percent of Bamboo species of the world are found in India. Nearly 90 species of bamboo are found in North East India and almost 41 of them are endemic to this region.

1. BAMBOO
DIVERSITY IN
NORTHEAST INDIA
1

2. contents
 Introduction
 Bamboo diversity in NE India
- Species diversity of bamboo
- Ecological diversity of bamboo
 Importance of bamboo diversity
 conclusion
2

3. INTRODUCTION
Bamboo belongs to the Poaceae family. Bamboo is
naturally distributed in the tropical and subtropical belt
between approximately 46° north to 47° south latitude.
Bamboo is an extremely diverse plant, which easily adapts
to different climatic and soil conditions[1]. It is the fast
growing, wide spread, renewable, versatile and non wood
forest resource. It is commonly known as “poor man’s
timber” and “green gold”.[2]
Bamboo has about 90 genera with over 1200 species in the
world. About 25% of bamboo species of the world are
found in India. Approximately 148 species and 4 varieties
in 29 genera of bamboos are currently thought to occur in
India.[3][4]
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4. Bamboo diversity in north east India
1.species diversity
• North-East India harbors nearly 90 species of bamboos
and 41 of which are endemic to this region[3] [4] .
65% of bamboo of the country grow in the north east
region .This region is considered as the “Bamboo
Paradise of India”.[2]
• Some of the dominant genera of bamboos found in
north-east India are- Arundinaria (10 spp.),
-Bambusa (22 spp.),
- Dendrocalamus (15 spp.),
-Chimonobambusa (9 spp.)
-cephalostachyum (7 spp.).[5]
4

5. Table 1: Total no. of Bamboo species with respect to state of
North East India
state no. of bamboo
species
Arunachal Pradesh 41
Assam 45
Manipur 45
Meghalaya 37
Mizoram 35
Nagaland 22
Sikkim 30
Tripura 19
Source: Biswas 1988; 1995; 1997 and Wildlife Institute of India 1998.
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6. Bamboo species in Arunachal Pradesh
• A total of 41 species of bamboo have been reported from
Arunachal Pradesh.[5]
• Among important bamboo genera, Bambusa had
maximum 16 species, followed by Arundinaria 12
species.
• Pleioblastus simonii and Arundinaria maling are endemic
species to the state Arunachal Pradesh.
• Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (Eppo) is one of the most
abundant species in Arunachal Pradesh .[6]
6

7. Bamboo species in Assam -
 The state of Assam is rich in bamboo diversity , total of 45 species of
bamboos are available in Assam and 38 species are naturally growing
species .[2][7]
 Bamboosa masrtersei is restricted in distribution to Dibrugarh
district.
 Bamboosa cacharensis, Dinochlora compactiflora, D.india are
restricted to Barak Valley.
 Chimnobambusa griffithiana and Oxetenanthera parviflora are
restricted in distribution to N.C.Hills.
 Bambusa rangaensis grows wild in the Ranga R.F. of Lakhimpur
district
 Bamboosa vulgaris is the introduced species cultivated throughout
Assam as ornamental plant.
 Bambusa jaintiana and Melocanna arundiana are the species reported
only from Assam.[7] 7

8. Bamboo Species in Manipur -
• More than 45 species of bamboo under 15 genera have been
reported from Manipur.[5]
• These include –13 species of Bambusa , 4 of Cephalostachyum, 1
of Chimonobambusa, 1 of Chimonocalamus, 9 of Dendrocalamus,
2 of Drepanostachyum, 2 of Gigantocloa, 1 of Himalayacalamus,
2 of Melocalamus, 1 of Melocanna, 1 of Neomicrocalamus, 1 of
Pseudostachyum, 3 of Schizostachyum, 1 of Thyrsostachys and 2
of Yushania.[8]
• Melocanna baccifera is grown in large extent on the hill slopes of
Churachanpur and Jiribam districts of Manipur .[8]
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9. Bamboo Species in Nagaland-
• currently around 22 species have been identified which are
spread all over Nagaland.
• The predominant species of bamboo found in Nagaland are-
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii , Teinostachyum dulloa, Bambusa
tulda.[9]
Bamboo Species in Sikkim-
• 30 species of bamboo under 8 genera were recorded in Sikkim.
• The main species found in Sikkim are Bambusa nutans, B.
tulda, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Sinarundinaria hookeriana
etc[10]
9

10. Bamboo Species in Meghalaya-
• 35 species of bamboo from 9 genera are found in
Meghalaya.[11]
• Arundinaria hirsuta, Bambusa pseudopallida,
Chimonobambusa callosa, Thamnocalamus prainii are
endemic to this state.
• Melocanna baccifera is the predominantly occurring bamboo
in the State Meghalaya.[12]
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11. Bamboo Species in Mizoram-
• Nearly 35 species of Bamboo covering 9 genera, occurring in the
Mizoram.
• Melocanna baccifera (Mautak) is abundantly found bamboo
species in Mizoram. Followed by Dendrocalamus hamiltonii ,
Bambusa tulda etc.
• In Mizoram, important genera of bamboo are- Dendrocalamus,
Bambusa and Arundinaria etc.[13]
Bamboo Species in Tripura-
• 19 species of bamboo under 5 genera are found in the tripura.
• Major bamboo species of Tripura are-Bambusa cacharensis,
Bambusa polymorpha, Bambusa tulda and Melocanna
baccifera.[14]
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12. • In North-east India Bamboos show a great Ecological
diversity in their habitats.
• In the North east India Bamboos occur in different forest
types, such as - i) Tropical
ii) Temperate and
iii) sub-alpine and Alpine forest types. [4]
Bamboos in tropical forests:
• In north east India different species of bamboo are found
naturally in moist and dry deciduous, evergreen and semi-
evergreen forests and savannah type of vegetation.
• Principal genera of bamboos found in tropical forests are -
Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Schizostachyum, Gigantochloa
etc.[5]
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2.Ecological Diversity

13. Bamboos in temperate forests:
• Temperate forests are confined to elevations ranging from
1500 m to 3000 m.
• In NE India, mainly shrubby bamboo species are found in
temperate forests .
• Principal genera of bamboo found in temperate forest are-
Chimonobambusa, Drepanostachyum,
Himalayacalamus, Sinobambusa etc.[5]
Bamboos in subAlpine and Alpine type of forests:
• This type of forest occurs in higher reaches from 3000 m
and above.
• Very few bamboo species are present in this zone.
• Principal genus of bamboos found in this type of forest
are-Arundinaria, Thamnocalamus, Pleioblastus etc.[4]
13

14. Bambusa balcooa
(bhaluka)
bambusa bambos
(kata bah)
source- hand book of bamboo
national bamboo mission
govt. of India
14

15. Bambusa nutans
(jatie makal)
Bambusa pollida
(bijuli )
source- hand book of bamboo
national bamboo mission
govt. of India
15

16. Bambusa tulda
[jati bah]
Dendrocalamus giganteus
[bar kako]
source- hand book of bamboo
national bamboo mission
govt. of India
16

17. Importance of bamboo diversity in north east india
• Bamboo has been an integral part of the cultural, social and
economic traditions of North East India.
• bamboo serves as an efficient agent in preventing soil erosion and
conserving moisture, reinforcement of embankments etc.
• Its qualities of strength, light weight and flexibility make it a viable
alternative to tropical timbers that typically supply the furniture and
building materials industries.
• Bamboo shoot of Melocanna baccifera, Bambusa tulda,
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and D.sikkimensis are use as a food.[5]
• Some bamboo species have medicinal value . Eg- bambusa tulda
(use in tetanus), dendrocalamus giganteus (for production of steroid
drugs) [6]
17

18. conclusion-
In North East India, Several species of bamboo have been
threatened during the past few decades due to large scale
reduction of habitat of bamboos due to illegal encroachments
in forest areas, over use in industries, shifting cultivation,
extensive forest fires etc.[4]
So, there is an urgent need for action that promote the
conservation and sustainable use of bamboo resource. Many
government agencies ,state forest department and NGOs are
working to conservation of bamboo diversity in north east
India. All states of NE India have their own bamboo policy to
conservation and management of bamboo resource.
18

19. Reference-
1. Lobovikov M. , Paudel S., Piazza M., Ren H., Junqi Wu World bamboo
resources: A thematic study prepared in the framework of the Global Forest
Resources, Assessment 2005
2. Sharma P., Saikia P and Sarma KP; Diversity, Uses and In vitro Propagation of
Different Bamboos of Sonitpur District, Assam; Department of Environmental
Sciences, Tezpur University, Napaam-781028, Tezpur, Assam, India
3. Tripathi H.K., Somasundaram P., Kumar R. and Lakchaura P.; Assessment of
Bamboo Resources of India
4. Sharma M.L., and Nirmala C.; Bamboo Diversity of India: An update ;
Department of Botany, Panjab University Chandigarh-160014; 10th World
Bamboo Congress, Korea, 2015
5. Biswas S. ; Bamboo diversity and conservation in India ,Scientist, Botany
Division, Forest Research Institute, Indian Council of Forestry Research &
Education, Dehradun, India]
6. T.C. Upreti and R.C. Sundriyal; Bamboo and cane resources of Arunachal Pradesh:
Utilization pattern and implications for management; The Journal of the American
Bamboo Society; 15(1): 20-34
19

20. 7. ENVIS Centre: Assam Status of Environment and Related Issues; Hosted
by Assam Science, Technology and Environment Council ; Sponsored by Ministry
of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Govt of India ,
http://asmenvis.nic.in/Database/Plant_Diversity_833.aspx
8. Rajkumari M. and Gupta A.; A note on the bamboo diversity and utilization from
Manipur in N.E. India; Pleione 7(2): 449 - 455. 2013
9. Nagaland bamboo policy; 15th march ,2004
https://www.nagaland.gov.in//Nagaland/UsefulLinks/Nagaland%20Bamboo%20Pol
icy.pdf
10. Tamang D. K., Dhakal D., Gurung S., Sharma N.P. & Shrestha D.G.; Bamboo
Diversity, Distribution Pattern and its uses in Sikkim (India) Himalaya;
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 2,
February 2013.
11. Kharlyngdoh E., Barik S.; Diversity, distribution pattern and use of bamboos in
Meghalaya; journal of bamboo and rattan , 7(1-2):73-90 · January 2008.
12. Forest & Environment Department, Government of Meghalaya
http://megforest.gov.in/activity_bamboo_resource.htm
13. Bamboo development agency, government of Mizoram;
http://mizobamboo.nic.in/bambooinmizoram.html
14. Bamboo vision document and sector study, government of Tripura; Feb. 2011
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