What Makes Strand Woven Bamboo a Green Flooring Alternative

What Makes Strand Woven Bamboo a Green Flooring Alternative?
Strand woven bamboo flooring as well as other ypes of bamboo have been touted as an ecologically sound alternative to hardwood floors.  This blog chooses to focus primarily on strand woven bamboo because of its advantages over other types of bamboo flooring because of its superior durability.  But what makes bamboo a better green flooring alternative?
The rate at which old-growth forests are disappearing in the world today is truly alarming.  More than 4 million acres of forests disappear from the earth each and every month.  Combine this with the fact that a tree harvested for use in the hardwood flooring market takes over sixty years to replace and it is easy to see how we simply can not afford to continue using traditional hardwoods from an ecological stand point.
Compare the rate of regeneration of a hardwood tree to that of a 60 foot peice of bamboo harvested for flooring – the bamboo will replenish in less than two months.  Bamboo is widely recognized throughout the world as one of the fasting growing plants around.  Besides its rate of regeneration, bamboo is a surprisingly better plant compared to hardwood ploots for the environment.  Bamboo is know to produce around 30% more oxygen to the atmosphere than a comparable stand of hardwood trees.  Ecologists hail this simple fact as an elegant way to combat the effects of global warming and reduce the overall atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.  In addition, bamboo is well known for its abilities to combat soil erosion due to its root structure.  Because of its quick growing nature, bamboo is also excellent for restoring soil that has been degraded throough poor management – bamboo produces an abondunce of biomass which is added back to the soil to provide necessary nutrients and improve the overall soil quality.  In addition, when bamboo is selectively harvested rather than clear cut, it will quickly regenerate itself without the need to replant new bamboo plants.
In regards to soil erosion, the massive root structure of bamboo is excellent at providing a natrual barrier to run off and water.  This has the effect of significantly reducing run off and soil erosion while providing more available water within the watershed area.  When harvested properly, the enire bamboo plant is not taken which keeps the majority of vital topsoil in the area where it can continue to be nurished and improved by the bamboo plant.
On the other hand, when a lumber tree plot is harvested, it takes many decades for the trees to regenerate.  During that time, oxygen production is severly hampered as there are no mature trees left in the area to continue producing.  In adition, the soil in the area is left exposed and is more susceptible to soil erosion and degradation over time.  The negative environmental impact is striking in comparision to a similar site of bamboo farming.
It is easy to see how bamboo is a sustainable resource on its own.  When compared to a similar growth of trees traditionally used for flooring, the choice becomes even more obvious.  If you are looking for a natural wood flooring, strand woven bamboo is the green alternative.

Strand woven bamboo flooring as well as other types of bamboo have been touted as an ecologically sound alternative to hardwood floors.  This blog chooses to focus primarily on strand woven bamboo because of its advantages over other types of bamboo flooring because of its superior durability.  But what makes bamboo a better green flooring alternative?

The rate at which old-growth forests are disappearing in the world today is truly alarming.  More than 4 million acres of forests disappear from the earth each and every month.  Combine this with the fact that a tree harvested for use in the hardwood flooring market takes over sixty years to replace and it is easy to see how we simply can not afford to continue using traditional hardwoods from an ecological stand point.

Compare the rate of regeneration of a hardwood tree to that of a 60 foot piece of bamboo harvested for flooring – the bamboo will replenish in less than two months.  Bamboo is widely recognized throughout the world as one of the fasting growing plants around.  Besides its rate of regeneration, bamboo is a surprisingly better plant compared to hardwood plots for the environment.  Bamboo is know to produce around 30% more oxygen to the atmosphere than a comparable stand of hardwood trees.  Ecologists hail this simple fact as an elegant way to combat the effects of global warming and reduce the overall atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.  In addition, bamboo is well known for its abilities to combat soil erosion due to its root structure.  Because of its quick growing nature, bamboo is also excellent for restoring soil that has been degraded through poor management – bamboo produces an abundance of biomass which is added back to the soil to provide necessary nutrients and improve the overall soil quality.  In addition, when bamboo is selectively harvested rather than clear cut, it will quickly regenerate itself without the need to replant new bamboo plants.

In regards to soil erosion, the massive root structure of bamboo is excellent at providing a natural barrier to run off and water.  This has the effect of significantly reducing run off and soil erosion while providing more available water within the watershed area.  When harvested properly, the entire bamboo plant is not taken which keeps the majority of vital topsoil in the area where it can continue to be nourished and improved by the bamboo plant.

On the other hand, when a lumber tree plot is harvested, it takes many decades for the trees to regenerate.  During that time, oxygen production is severely hampered as there are no mature trees left in the area to continue producing.  In addition, the soil in the area is left exposed and is more susceptible to soil erosion and degradation over time.  The negative environmental impact is striking in comparison to a similar site of bamboo farming.

It is easy to see how bamboo is a sustainable resource on its own.  When compared to a similar growth of trees traditionally used for flooring, the choice becomes even more obvious.  If you are looking for a natural wood flooring, strand woven bamboo is the green alternative.

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