Guest Blog | Debunked: 8 Myths about Moso Bamboo

嘉宾博客揭穿:关于毛竹的8个神话

This post was written by Pablo van der Lugt, Head of Sustainability at MOSO International and plenary speaker at INBAR’s 2018 Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress, BARC2018. It was originally posted on the Moso Bamboo blog in August 2019.

这篇文章是由MOSO国际公司的可持续发展主管Pablo van der Lugt撰写的，他是INBAR 2018年全球竹藤大会BARC2018的全体发言人。它最初于2019年8月发布在Moso Bamboo博客上。

Bamboo is one of the oldest building materials on this planet and has been used for centuries, mostly in Asian countries where bamboo is abundantly available. Due to the relatively high percentage of less developed countries in which this abundance is present, bamboo is often referred to as the “poor man’s timber”.

竹子是这个星球上最古老的建筑材料之一，已经使用了几个世纪，主要是在亚洲国家，那里有大量的竹子。由于这种丰富的资源在欠发达国家中所占比例较高，竹子经常被称为 "穷人的木材"。

8 Myths about Moso Bamboo

关于毛竹的8个神话

Strong associations that have been connected to bamboo provokes personal opinions: it is a material that is either loved or hated. In this article, some of the most common myths about bamboo will be discussed and debunked, along with the history that led to the misunderstanding.

与竹子有关的强烈联想引发了个人的意见：它是一种要么被爱要么被恨的材料。在这篇文章中，我们将讨论和揭穿一些关于竹子的最常见的神话，以及导致误解的历史。

Bamboo is a weed that grows anywhere

竹子是一种随处生长的杂草

Many people are aware of bamboo as it is used in landscaping and often causes difficulties, due to the different properties of the many bamboo species. There are two categories in which bamboo can fall into: running and clumping. Some species do spread very quickly through their underground rhizome systems, these are the “running” bamboo species. The second category is the “clumpers”, these will generally stay in one place. Moso bamboo is one of the running bamboo species, which means that it can spread quickly and will not stay in its original place.

许多人都知道竹子，因为它被用于景观设计，而且常常造成困难，因为许多竹子品种的属性不同。竹子可以分为两类：运行的和丛生的。有些品种通过其地下根茎系统传播得非常快，这些是 "运行 "的竹子品种。第二类是 "丛生者"，这些竹子通常会呆在一个地方。毛竹是奔跑型竹种之一，这意味着它可以快速传播，不会留在原来的地方。

Bamboo is not very strong because it bends easily

竹子不是很结实，因为它容易弯曲

Bamboo actually has a low E-modulus, buthas a higher linear elasticity than wood. This means that it can bend further than wood without breaking, which is very useful in housing in earthquake prone areas and many other applications.

竹子实际上具有较低的E-模量，但具有比木材更高的线性弹性。这意味着它可以比木材弯曲得更远而不会断裂，这对地震多发地区的住房和许多其他应用非常有用。

Bamboo is stronger than steel

竹子比钢结实

Bamboo is only stronger than steel when looking at the tensile strength of the bamboo fibre per weight unit. Incorrect marketing and over exaggeration has led this myth.

如果从每一重量单位的竹纤维的抗拉强度来看，竹子只比钢强。不正确的营销和过度的夸大导致了这种神话。

Pandas are in danger of extinction due to the industrialisation of bamboo

由于竹子的工业化，熊猫正面临灭绝的危险

The survival of the panda is not a matter of lack of bamboo but the destruction of ecosystems, as bamboo actually grows quicker than a panda’s digestive system is able to handle. On top of this, the giant panda’s natural habitat (Sichuan province, Central China) does not overlap with the location of Moso bamboo, found in Eastern China. Even if that was the case, the branches of Moso bamboo would be too high for pandas to reach.

大熊猫的生存不是缺少竹子的问题，而是生态系统被破坏的问题，因为竹子的生长速度实际上比大熊猫的消化系统能够处理的还要快。除此之外，大熊猫的自然栖息地（中国中部的四川省）与中国东部的毛竹所在地并不重合。即使是这样，摩梭竹的树枝对大熊猫来说也太高了。

Bamboos fast growth depletes forests and soil

竹子的快速生长使森林和土壤枯竭

On the contrary, bamboo is very suitable for reforestation to revitalise poor, eroded grounds by restoring the canopy and retaining soil and water tables through its extensive rhizome network. Bamboo is a grass, meaning that it grows in a totally different manner to trees, making the comparison between bamboo and trees difficult to grasp, in some respects. Thus, when comparing bamboo to trees such mistakes can be made which have a “Chinese whisper” effect and quickly escalate.

相反，竹子非常适用于重新造林，通过其广泛的根茎网络，恢复树冠，保持土壤和水位，使贫瘠、受侵蚀的土地恢复活力。竹子是一种草，意味着它的生长方式与树木完全不同，这使得竹子和树木的比较在某些方面难以把握。因此，当把竹子和树木进行比较时，可能会犯这样的错误，这些错误具有 "中国式的耳语 "效果，并迅速升级。

Bamboo plantations lead to tropical deforestation

竹子种植园导致热带森林砍伐

Tropical deforestation occurs when tropical forests are not protected and often destroyed for cattle farming, infrastructure or high-yield crops, such as soy or palm oil. The growth of the worldwide bamboo area, on the contrary, comes from natural expansion (runners) and reforestation of degraded land with bamboo, in particular in India and China. However, this is something that must be monitored by specialists, as the threat of tropical deforestation occurring to plant bamboo exists which should, of course, be prevented at all costs.

当热带森林没有得到保护时，就会出现热带森林被破坏的情况，往往是为了养牛、基础设施或高产作物，如大豆或棕榈油。相反，全世界竹子面积的增长来自于自然扩张（跑马场）和退化土地上竹子的重新造林，特别是在印度和中国。然而，这是必须由专家监测的事情，因为存在着为种植竹子而砍伐热带森林的威胁，当然应该不惜一切代价加以防止。

Bamboo is susceptible to insects

竹子易受昆虫侵袭

This is only true for the natural, untreated bamboo stems, which are rich in natural sugar. There are many, non-toxic methods, like heat treatment to prevent vermin invading bamboo.

这只适用于天然的，未经处理的竹茎，它含有丰富的天然糖分。有很多，无毒的方法，像热处理，以防止害虫入侵竹子。

Bamboo is not a sustainable material because of the transportation aspect

由于运输方面的原因，竹子不是一种可持续的材料

All solid MOSO Bamboo Products have a negative carbon footprint (CO2neutral or better) over its lifecycle, which includes the transportation to the warehouse. The emissions due to transport (and production) are counterweighted by the benefits of this rapidly renewable material and the amount of CO2 that is stored in the material during its growth phase.

所有的MOSO竹制品在其生命周期内，包括运输到仓库的过程中，都有负的碳足迹（二氧化碳中性或更好）。由于运输（和生产）造成的排放被这种快速可再生材料的好处和在其生长阶段储存在材料中的二氧化碳量所抵消。

Follow Pablo on Twitter here, Moso Bamboo on Twitter here, and learn more about Moso Bamboo here.

在这里跟随推特上的巴勃罗，在这里跟随推特上的毛竹，在这里了解更多关于毛竹的知识。

The cover image of Madrid Barajas Airport for this article is (C) Moso International.

本文的马德里巴拉哈斯机场封面图片为(C)Moso国际。