Bamboo plants are a wonderful boon to the world. They produce useful wood, fibers for textiles, and biocomposites, and they are even animal and human food resources. Many people plant bamboo in their gardens for aesthetics, but does bamboo also produce oxygen?
Like other green plants, bamboo produces oxygen from water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight during photosynthesis. Oxygen production is a byproduct of the process. Bamboo creates up to 35% more oxygen than other plants. However, various factors influence the amount of oxygen produced.
Green plants are essential for food, shelter, carbon sequestration, and oxygen production (among other reasons), but how much of a contribution does bamboo have to these effects? Is bamboo comparable? What factors limit oxygen production? And how does bamboo produce this essential gas?
All You Need To Know About Bamboo Oxygen Production
Like other green plants, bamboo undergoes daily photosynthesis, producing sugar, water, and oxygen.
“Bamboo” is a collective term referring to roughly 1400 plant species belonging to the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family (Poaceae).
Bamboo is an essential oxygen producer thanks to its global distribution, dense growth forms, and “lightning” growth rates (as much as 1 foot a day).
Aside from producing oxygen by converting carbon dioxide during this process, bamboo plants are also essential for removing carbon dioxide from the air (carbon sequestration), reducing the effects of climate change.
How Does Bamboo Produce Oxygen?
Photosynthesis is a complex combination of reactions where energy from the sun is used to separate carbon dioxide molecules in the green parts of the plant (primarily the leaves). Water is another essential part of the process.
Once separated, the plant uses the carbon molecules to produce sugars (glucose), which it stores and uses for various functions.
The oxygen produced during this process is released via the plant’s stomata (tiny pores on the underside of the leaves) into the air.
The process occurs in the plant’s chloroplast (a special organelle in the plant cell), where sunlight stimulates a collection of membranes (called “thylakoid membranes”) to release chlorophyll (the pigment that makes leaves green).
The water molecules inside the chloroplast begin to split into two hydrogen and one oxygen atom after chlorophyll absorbs energy from sunlight. The “free” oxygen bonds with another oxygen atom to form O2 (oxygen molecule).
During the process, ATP and NADPH molecules are produced, which provide the plant with the energy needed during the rest of photosynthesis (the Calvin cycle, where carbon dioxide combines with the hydrogen molecules to form glucose).
How Much Oxygen Does Bamboo Produce?
While all green plants produce oxygen, not all do so in equal amounts, and bamboo plants produce more oxygen than many other plants.
A single, mature bamboo plant produces roughly 661 lbs of oxygen annually, and a strand of bamboo plants produces 30 to 35% more oxygen than other forests (approximately 64 tons per acre annually).
Do Different Bamboo Species Produce More/Less Oxygen?
With over 1400 species, it is unsurprising that bamboo plants come in different sizes (heights and widths) and grow in different forms (clump vs runner).
Bamboo plants also vary in growth rates, with some incredibly quick growers, like Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), and slower growers, like Fargesia types.
The difference in growth rates, forms, and size influences the amount of oxygen a particular bamboo species produces. The age of the plant also plays an important role in oxygen production.
Larger plants, those with faster growth rates, and those that clump together produce more oxygen than other bamboo that grows slower, stays shorter, and grows as a runner (considering the total oxygen produced by a strand).
Other Factors Which Influence Bamboo Oxygen Production
While the bamboo species is significant in how much oxygen the plants produce, there are other important factors, including:
- Light intensity – plants require sunlight to initiate and provide the energy needed for photosynthesis. Without sufficient light, photosynthesis is reduced. I.e., the plant doesn’t have the “energy” required to photosynthesize.
- Temperature – related to light energy; the lower the temperature, the slower the photosynthetic rate. When it is warmer, the enzymes involved in photosynthesis are more energized, increasing the rate. However, the process slows when it’s too hot as the enzymes change shape.
- Carbon dioxide concentration – Carbon dioxide is essential to the process. When there is sufficient concentration, the rate increases. When the plant is CO2-starved, photosynthesis slows down.
- Water availability – without water, a plant can’t produce glucose nor release O2 into the air. Many plant metabolic processes (including photosynthesis) are reduced during drought conditions.
Aside from the lack of water, the plant’s structures are damaged (e.g., leaves wither and die). A plant’s stomata (pores) usually close during drought conditions to retain water. This closing limits gaseous exchange through the leaves.
Overall, plant health is essential to photosynthesis. When a plant is thriving (bamboo or other), processes like photosynthesis are efficient, and the plant grows.
However, when there are nutrient deficiencies, diseases, droughts, or other issues, a plant no longer functions optimally, and the amount of oxygen released through photosynthesis is drastically reduced.
A “happy” and healthy plant is a productive plant.
Bamboo Oxygen Production Vs. Other Plants
The primary reason for bamboo’s elevated oxygen production is thanks to its incredible growth rates. Bamboo boasts one of the fastest growth rates of plants on Earth. To support this growth, they need increased photosynthetic rates (i.e., they require more carbohydrates to keep up with their growing needs).
Although bamboo plants are thinner and have fewer leaves than many trees, they may reach 130’.
A further benefit of bamboo is that they grow in closely packed “clumps” (or as runners) and sprout vegetatively, so they become quite dense in an area, further increasing oxygen production.
Bamboo produces nearly 660 lbs of oxygen annually, while the average tree produces around 260 lbs.
Oxygen production relates to the leaf area index, i.e., the number of leaves (leaf biomass) and their surface area. Pine trees tend to have lower oxygen production levels, while oaks and aspens are in the “middle” range.
Other tree species which produce equally impressive amounts of oxygen include the following:
- Beech
- Douglas-fir
- Maple
- Spruce
- True fir
Bamboo’s oxygen production pales compared to the algae found in the ocean, which accounts for 80% of all oxygen production on Earth.
Other Benefits Of Bamboo Oxygen Production
While bamboo plants produce oxygen during photosynthesis, that is not the limit of their benefits to humanity (even though the oxygen is not produced for our benefit, but more as a byproduct and for the plant’s use).
Some other oxygen-related benefits that bamboo provides include:
Bamboo Sequesters Carbon
Bamboo plants also take carbon dioxide out of the air and use it during their growth.
Bamboo’s immense growth rate can sequester up to 12 tons of CO² per hectare (around 2.47 acres) per year.
They assimilate the carbon into their woody stems (culms), rhizomes, and surrounding soil. Bamboo actively counteracts climate change by removing this greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide).
Bamboo Plants Cool The Environment
Bamboo actively cools the surrounding environment by releasing oxygen, creating shade, and enhancing the amount of groundwater around their rhizomes (the air can be as much as 8 degrees cooler around bamboo strands).
These effects produce a “clean and fresh” microhabitat.
Conclusion
Bamboo plants produce roughly 30 to 35% more oxygen than most other plants, thanks to their fast growth. They produce this oxygen through photosynthesis and use the sugars to support their growth, which they derive from carbon dioxide. Bamboo plants are wonderful sources of carbon sequestering, and they cool off the surrounding area.