Bamboo forests are fast-growing, renewable resources, and their carbon sequestration potential has attracted increasing attention. Although bamboo can be used for many purposes, bamboo forests in Korea represent a generally underutilized resource. The main objective here was to perform an assessment of the physical and mechanical characteristics of different species of bamboo found in Korea. The main species of domestic bamboo are Phyllostachys bambusoides, P. pubescens, and P. nigra; we measured the air-dried density for each of the species, with obtained values of 0.89 g/cm2, 0.79 g/cm2, and 0.83 g/cm2, respectively, giving the density order of P. bambusoides > P. pubescens > P. nigra, with P. bambusoides having the highest density. We then measured the compressive strength of each species, which were 802.84 kgf/cm2, 624.69 kgf/cm2, and 743.77 kgf/cm2, respectively, in the order of P. bambusoides > P. pubescens > P. nigra, with P. bambusoides having the highest compressive strength. Volume and maximum load decreased with increasing node height in the three bamboo species, whereas air-dried density and compressive strength increased. Our results thus add to the pool of essential knowledge about Korean bamboo species, and consequently to the development of a potentially valuable domestic resource in Korea.

Three bamboo stands(Phyllostachys pubescens(Mazel) Ohwi, P. bambusoides Sieb. et Zucc, P. nigra var. henonis Stapf ex. Rendle) were selected to determine suitable biomass equations and productivity of Gajwa and Wola National Experimental Forests, Jinju, Southern Korea. Different independent variables such as diameter at breast height(DBH) or the combination of DBH and height(H) were used to develop biomass equations(Allometric model : logY = a + blog DBH; Linear-quadratic model : Y=aDBH + bDBH2; Linear model with DBH and height : Y=a + bDBH2·H) for each bamboo component from two age-sequence(current-year, > 1-year-old) of three bamboo stands. Based on statistical indicators, the most suitable equation model to estimate biomass from bamboo stands was a linear-quadratic model. Aboveground biomass of three bamboo stands estimated by the model was 48.864 Mg ha-1 for the P. pubescens, followed by 36.632 Mg ha-1 for the P. bambusoides, and 36.504 Mg ha-1 for the P. nigra var. henonis stands, respectively. The highest biomass in the P. pubescens stand was attributed to the morphological growth characteristics such as DBH and height. Belowground biomass was also highest for P. pubescens(53.35 Mg ha-1), followed by the P. bambusoides(36.73 Mg ha-1) and the P. nigra var. henonis(29.75 Mg ha-1) stands. The results indicate that the morphological growth characteristics such as DBH and height among bamboo species were the most important factor to determine bamboo biomass productivity at a local level.

In order to develop a antimicrobial agent, dried bamboo trunk was extracted by high temperature suction and then antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 2825 and Escherichia coli DH 5α were investigated as compared with tea tree oil and BHA. The minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) of the extracted substance against microorganisms were also examined. The results are as follows: 1. By disc diffusion method, BHA showed the strongest antimicrobial activity on Gram-positive bacteria such as S. aureus ATCC 2825 but bamboo essential oil showed the strongest antimicrobial activity on Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli DH 5α. 2. By broth dilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentration of the BHA, tea tree oil and bamboo oil were not detected against S. aureus ATCC 2825(MIC, 6.0 ㎕/㎖) and E. cola DH 5α(MIC, 6.0 ㎕/㎖)