Abstract
A massive ice and snow storm occurred in early 2008 in South China and caused
extensive damage to forests. Thirty-six plots of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys
pubescens) plantation were established following the ice storm in the central growth
area of moso bamboo, Fenyi, Jiangxi province, China. The topographical condition
and stand attributes, and the ice storm impact on moso bamboo plantations were
investigated. We found that an average of 54.48% (±17.58%) bamboo culms was
damaged. The damage patterns included bending, snapping and uprooting, which
accounted for 17.01% (±7.28%), 22.37% (±11.58%) and 15.11% (±11.54%) of the
total respectively. An average of 16.42 (±7.09) tons per hectare dead dry biomass was
produced, accounting for 37.73% (±14.41%) of total aboveground biomass. A mean
value of 8.21 (±3.55) Mg C per hectare was shifted from living biomass to dead.
Stand level analysis showed a significant increase in damage level and dead biomass
production at north-oriented slopes, and with high stand density (between 3000 and
4500 culm/ha). High altitude caused a higher proportion of snapped culms but a lower
proportion of uprooted. Analysis at individual culm level suggested that the
susceptibility for a culm to break or uproot due to ice storm would rise as its diameter
increased, while the susceptibility to bend would decline. The young (one year old)
culm was more susceptible to snapping or bending while over-mature (>5 years old)
culm was more susceptible to uprooting, implying it is a good managing practice to
harvest mature culm timely.
