Is it scientific and reasonable to mix Chinese fir and bamboo?

There is no big problem in mixing Chinese fir and bamboo from the perspective of root system. Chinese fir is a deep taproot plant that can absorb fertilizer from the bottom layer, while bamboo is a shallow horizontal root plant that absorbs fertilizer from the topsoil.

But there are one or two points where they clash with each other, both being evergreens, and competing for sunlight.

It takes about 5 years for a Chinese fir seedling to reach 6 meters in height, while it only takes a few months for a bamboo shoot to grow into a bamboo shoot. If the density is too high, it will greatly affect the growth of Chinese fir seedlings in mixed planting.

From three or four decades of afforestation practice, we have concluded that mixed planting of Chinese fir and bamboo is feasible, but the timing of planting and the terrain of the mountains must be compatible to ensure scientific growth and mutual benefit.

Is it scientific and reasonable to mix Chinese fir and bamboo?

Flat mountainous terrain

1. When planting Chinese fir seedlings in the early stage, generally about 150 seedlings per mu are planted. The number of mother bamboos planted in the middle rows can only be about 30. If there are too many, the bamboos will survive for three years and produce shoots in the fourth year. This will affect the Chinese fir trees that have not grown to 6 meters in height, and they will compete with each other for sunlight, thus inhibiting the growth of large areas of Chinese fir.

2. It's generally better to plant more than 30 mother bamboos per acre in a more open area three to five years after the fir trees are planted. This way, the mother bamboos will produce numerous shoots after three years, and the fir trees will be nearly level with the bamboos, sharing sunlight on parallel lines. The bamboo shoots will also grow straighter. While the bamboos may be uneven in thickness, after three years, thinning out the smaller ones will yield benefits. Thereafter, thinning the bamboos annually will yield benefits from harvesting the smaller shoots.

You can consider mixed planting in layers first, and then the bamboo will grow into the fir forest in different directions.

The mountain is steep

Consider starting with mixed planting, and then the bamboo will naturally develop in different directions into the fir forest.

Plant bamboo first in the valley (don't plant fir seedlings), and then start planting fir seedlings more than six meters vertically above the valley. Generally, the tips of bamboos will naturally bend at six meters, and no matter how much they grow, it will not affect the sunlight of the fir seedlings at a vertical height of six meters. Even if the bamboos grow rapidly and then bend, it will temporarily force the fir seedlings to grow rapidly (organisms will also grow rapidly during the struggle).

Then plant another layer of bamboo at a vertical distance of more than six meters. This layer of bamboo should be thinned out to prevent it from growing too vigorously and causing the bamboo tops to droop, affecting both the fir seedlings below and the fir seedlings planted above. This layer should be thinned out frequently to prevent the fir seedlings above and below from getting any sunlight.

Generally, after five or six years, mixed-layer plantings of Chinese fir and bamboo will show vigorous growth.

After fifteen years, the bamboo will gradually lose its strength. Large numbers of bamboo can be cut down, or the mother bamboo can be thinned out to preserve the seeds.

Twenty years later, there will be a lot of fir trees ready for felling and selling. After the fir trees have been felled, the bamboo will recover and grow rapidly. The benefits of this mixed planting method will be realized over a long period of time.

After the fir trees are cut down, the bamboo trees will recover and grow rapidly.

Is it scientifically sound to interplant Chinese fir and bamboo? Natural interplanting of Chinese fir and bamboo occurs naturally, and theoretically, it's feasible. However, Chen Changwen of China Wood Business Network recently discovered that interplanting Chinese fir and bamboo will ultimately lead to the bamboo consuming the Chinese fir. Let's hear Chen Changwen's analysis.

Is it scientifically sound to mix Chinese fir and bamboo? There are examples of Chinese fir and bamboo mixed in nature, and theoretically, it is also feasible to mix Chinese fir and bamboo.

Bamboo wins the underground battle

People often use the phrase "no place to stand" to describe the hardships of survival for the poor, and the same applies to describing fir trees growing in a mixed environment with fir and bamboo.

Both fir and bamboo are shallow root plants, but fir has slightly deeper roots than moso bamboo, unlike moso bamboo which can grow exposed. However, its growth space is basically in the 30-60 cm soil layer (deeper in deep soil), so the root growth of fir and bamboo has an underground "battle".

Underground, bamboo rhizomes are indestructible, capable of climbing over exposed rocks and piercing the soil behind them. Naturally grown bamboo, without human intervention, will eventually swell to death from its own overflowing rhizomes, so cutting off rhizomes is a way to ensure high yields.

Faced with such a powerful opponent, the roots of the fir tree were naturally "defeated".

Bamboo wins the battle for space

Bamboo wins the underground battle

On the ground, the competition between fir and bamboo is also "fierce". Fir and bamboo are both apically dominant plants. Once they encounter plants competing for light, they will try their best to grow taller. This is also a strategy of mixed planting of fir and bamboo to promote the growth of fir. However, in front of the champion of growing taller bamboo, fir is also "defeated".

According to historical records, moso bamboo can reach a maximum height of 30 meters, which is difficult for fir to match. Not long ago, when checking the mixed fir and bamboo forest at the forest farm, the bamboo at the bottom of the valley was more than 20 meters deep, and the fir in the mixed forest was completely suppressed and dying.

In the competition of space, bamboo wins again.

Individual "confrontation", bamboo wins

When comparing the strength of individual fir and bamboo trees in a mixed fir and bamboo forest, although both the fir and bamboo were forced to the point where only a few branches remained at the top, Chen Changwen of China Wood Business Network hit the fir and bamboo respectively. The bamboo was as solid as a rock, while the fir seemed weak and fragile. In the mixed fir and bamboo forest, the fir was completely defeated.

To sum up, the mixed planting of fir and bamboo is very "full" in theory, but very "skinny" in reality. In the mixed planting of fir and bamboo, bamboo will dominate the world.