THE EFFECTS OF AGE AND HEIGHT POSITION ON THE CHEMICAL OF BAMBOO (Dendrocalamus barbatus Hsueh et D. Z. Li)

Abstract

The tree ages and the height position on the trunk (bottom, middle, top) affect the chemical components of Dendrocalamus barbatus Hsueh et D. Z. Li. In this study, the changes of some chemical components of Dendrocalamus barbatus were determined based on the tree ages and the height position on the trunk: cellulose and lignin content. The results showed that, the chemical components at all age levels changed from bottom to top: cellulose content varied from 51.82 - 55.97%, increasing gradually from bottom to top, while lignin content ranged from 25.51 - 31.00%, decreasing gradually from bottom to top. According to tree ages, the cellulose content at age 1 and 2 in the height positions was lower in comparison to age 3, 4 and 5; while Lignin content at age 1 was the lowest and age 2 was higher than the remaining ages and gradually decreased from age 3 to age 5. However, the difference between the tree ages was not large.