Bamboo in Sukaharja, Ciamis, Thrives Under Agroforestry Management

Image: article cover, from Aditya et al. (2018), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from the Agroforestry Technology Research and Development Centre recorded a bamboo potential of 765 culms per hectare in Sukaharja Village, Ciamis Regency, West Java. The study, published in the Journal Wasian in 2018, found that bamboo in the village remains sustainable because it is managed under an agroforestry system, planted alongside other crops on the same land.

Of this total, around 53 per cent consists of young bamboo and 47 per cent mature bamboo. The dominant species is apus bamboo (Gigantochloa apus), accounting for 92 per cent. The people of Sukaharja derive economic benefits from bamboo, so the plant is not clear-felled or replaced with other commodities. The planting patterns adopted by residents combine bamboo with timber trees, non-timber forest products, estate crops and horticultural crops.

According to the study, bamboo management in Sukaharja could serve as a model for bamboo farmers elsewhere. Bamboo has often been regarded as having low economic value, and many bamboo stands in communities are discarded or replaced with other commodities. Yet, under an agroforestry system, bamboo can be harvested continuously without losing its function for the land and for residents' livelihoods.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Potency and Agroforestry Patterns that Support Bamboo Sustainability in Sukaharja Village, Ciamis District by Aditya Hani Aditya, Eva Fauziyah Fauziyah, Tri Sulistyawati Widyaningsih Widyaningsih and Devy Priambodo Kuswantoro Devy, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 5 No. 2 (2018). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Aditya, A. H., Fauziyah, E. F., Widyaningsih, T. S. W., & Devy, D. P. K. (2018). Potency and Agroforestry Patterns that Support Bamboo Sustainability in Sukaharja Village, Ciamis District. Jurnal Wasian, 5(2), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.62142/sn6y5674

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.