**Growth Characteristics of Dwarf Bamboo Distributed in the Northern Part of Japan the Northern Part of Japan**

**Growth Characteristics of Dwarf Bamboo Distributed in** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.68541

Masazumi Kayama and Takayoshi Koike Masazumi Kayama and Takayoshi Koike Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.68541

#### **Abstract**

Dwarf bamboo is a dominant forest floor species, especially in the northern part of Japan. *Sasa kurilensis*, *Sasa senanensis* and *Sasa nipponica* are widely distributed in this region. Growth characteristics of these three *Sasa* species are also different: leaf longevity of *S. kurilensis* is 3–5 years. In contrast, leaf longevity of *S. senanensis* and *S. nipponica* are 2 years and <1 year, respectively. We predicted that ecophysiological characteristics of the three *Sasa* species would reflect their leaf longevity; however, their characteristics were still not well analysed. We examined ecophysiological parameters of the three *Sasa* species grown under the same environment. Net photosynthetic rate at light saturation (*P*sat) and nitrogen concentration (N) of S. nipponica showed high values after flushing. However, culms of *S. nipponica* were dropped after overwintering, and *P*sat of the 2-year-old leaves drastically decreased. Meanwhile, *P*sat of the current leaves of *S. kurilensis* was lower than the other two species. However, *P*sat of 2-year-old leaves of *S. kurilensis* still maintained a relatively high value. *P*sat of the current leaves of *S. senanensis* was higher than that of *S. kurilensis* even though N was the same. From these results, *S. senanensis* had a high photosynthetic nitrogen efficiency rate (*P*sat/N).

**Keywords:** *Sasa*, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen, chlorophyll, leaf thickness
