Bamboo sector reforms and the local economy of Linan County, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China

Isolation and characterization of two phosphate-solubilizing fungi from rhizosphere soil of moso bamboo and their functional capacities when exposed to different phosphorus sources and pH environments

“…covers an area of 3.87 million ha, accounting for 70% of the bamboo forest area in China and 80% of its global distribution [ 1 , 2 ]. It has become the main economic forest crop for satisfying the industrial requirement as well as improving forestry efficiency and farmers’ income [ 3 , 4 ]. However, due to long-term intensive management, soil fertility has declined and nutrient shortages have restricted the improvement of moso bamboo productivity.…”

From basic raw material goods to cultural and environmental services: the Chinese bamboo sophistication path

“…However, aside from the academic interest, we believe that conducting such a China-wide tenure-arrangements study for bamboo could prove important because the Contract Responsibility System has been crucial for maintaining one of the most interesting features of bamboo in rural development: its highly egalitarian nature. As demonstrated by Kant andChiu (2000), Ruiz Perez et al (2004), Gutierrez et al (2009), andHogarth et al (2013), bamboo income shows relatively low Gini coefficients (a commonly used index measuring the income distribution in a population, which ranges from 0 (maximum equality) to 1 (maximum inequality), Gastwirth 1972)), thus indicating a fairly egalitarian economic activity (Table 1). In rural areas with a strong tradition of bamboo plantations, these offer a partial buffer against the growing income disparities that are currently considered one of the key issues facing China.…”

“…According to this view, bamboo serves as an option that allows the poor to thrive, eventually helping to facilitate poverty mitigation and elimination. The evidence for this hypothesis is the frequent higher contribution of bamboo to household economy in poorer households (Hogarth et al 2013) and the possibility to climb up the social ladder and move from lower to higher income groups through bamboo cultivation (Kant and Chiu 2000).…”

Looking Through the Bamboo Curtain: An Analysis of the Changing Role of Forest and Farm Income in Rural Livelihoods in China

“…Poor farmers were too poor to maximize the opportunity, whereas rich farmers had superior economic options available. These findings were questioned by Kant and Chiu (2000). Based in their survey of one village in Linan county (Zhejiang), they argued that the poorest farmers had benefited most from bamboo and that the income differences (measured by Gini coefficients) had been reduced.…”