Study Area

Dulongjiang Township, the only settlement of the Dulong people in China, is west of Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China (Figure 1). Dulongjiang Township (27°40′–28°50′ N, 97°45′–98°30′ E) is adjacent to the Bingzhongluo and Cikai townships in the east, Chayu County of Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and Kachin State of Myanmar to the west and south. Dulongjiang Township has a typical alpine gorge landform with a large altitude gradient of 1172–4862 m (Cheng et al., 2020). The Dulongjiang region has been isolated for a long time and continues to be even today from December to June due to winter weather conditions. It is still the most remote, poor, backward, and closed area. The Dulongjiang region has a vertical and diverse climate and abundant rains, with an average annual rainfall of 3670 mm. It is located within a small area with the highest rainfall in the country (Cheng et al., 2022b). Dulongjiang Township is one of the core areas of the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve and the Three Rivers Parallel World Natural Heritage Sites. The township harbors dense primary forests. It is one of the places with the highest biodiversity in China, with 275 species in 41 families of ferns and 2003 species in 158 families of seed plants in the limited area (Cheng et al., 2022a).

Figure 1

The study area: Dulongjiang Township, Gongshan County, Yunnan Province, China.

Dulong is one of the fifty-five minority groups in China and has the smallest population in Yunnan Province. The Dulong people in Dulongjiang Township account for 99% of the total population (6,930 people only). Most people speak Dulong, and only young people can speak Mandarin Chinese. The incomes of these local people are exceptionally inadequate, and the primary sources are spices and herbs collected from the forests.

Field Survey and Data Collection

Based on the local chronicles, maps, and flora, a preliminary understanding of the topography, climatic conditions, and vegetation of the Dulongjiang area and the history, customs, religious beliefs, and social culture of the Dulong people preceded the ethnobotanical investigation, which helped in choosing an appropriate site and time for the survey.

Four field surveys were conducted from 2019 to 2020, and the investigation sites included six villages. First, 30 participants were selected using the snowball method. Most of the informants were or had been engaged in bamboo weaving. Second, the informants were interviewed using participatory observation, a free list, and semi-structured interviews. The information obtained in the interview mainly included basic information (nationality, gender, age, education level, and occupation) and detailed information on the bamboo used by the informant, including the local names and usage. In addition, we showed bamboo pictures prepared in advance to the informant to establish the accuracy of the recorded information. Data were recorded and analyzed using different quantitative indices.

Species Identification

During the field investigation, researchers, accompanied by Dulong guides, conducted field trips to obtain plant specimens and observed the habitat characteristics, resource status, and different bamboo forest types. Additional information about the ecological and biological traits of bamboo during various seasons was provided by Dulong guides. Some bamboo species are distributed at altitudes that are too high to reach. We determined the correctness of species identification by consulting local people, literature, databases, and related bamboo experts for these species.

For the identification of plants, the voucher specimens were studied and compared with reference books (Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, Flora of China, Flora of Yunnan, Flora of Dulongjiang Region) and electronic online resources (http://www.iplant.cn/ and http://www.theplantlist.org/). The nomenclature of all vascular plants follows Flora of China. Prof. Chunlin Long identified all plant species, and voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of the Minzu University of China in Beijing.

Quantitative Indices

The use value (UV) and the relative frequency of citations (RFC) were used to evaluate and compare the importance of bamboo plants used by the Dulong people. To quantify the frequency of use of certain species, we calculated their utilization frequency using the following formula:

This parameter refers to the ratio of the number of respondents who mention a particular bamboo plant (frequency of citation, FC) to the total number of respondents participating in the survey (N). The larger the RFC, the more important and valuable the bamboo plants in the area. The importance of each bamboo plant was indicated by its FC value, which allowed all bamboo plants mentioned in the survey to be listed in the order of importance (Vitalini et al., 2013).

The UV was used to measure the relative importance of the locally used species. The UV is calculated as follows:

where U_i is the number of uses mentioned by each informant for a given species, and n refers to the total number of informants. The higher the UV, the higher the utilization value of the species. Plants are often used in research and are relatively important (Tardio & Pardo-de-Santayana, 2008).

Diversity of Bamboo Species

Through ethnoecological investigations, 12 bamboo species belonging to seven genera used by the Dulong people were recorded. The most dominant genus was Fargesia, followed by Cephalostachyum, and the remaining genera contained only one species in each genus. Botanical, ethnobotanical, and ethnoecological information about these bamboo species, including scientific names, vernacular names, genus, altitude, RFC, and UV, are listed in Table 1.

Diversity of Traditional Knowledge of Bamboo Species

The Dulong people used bamboo species in seven aspects: food, bamboo weaving, clothes, construction, transportation, medicinal purposes, and hunting and fishing tools (Table 2). Eleven bamboo species can be used for food, followed by bamboo weaving with eight species, and seven bamboo species can be used for hunting and fishing purposes. Only two types of bamboo are used for medicinal purposes. Among the 12 bamboo species used by the Dulong people, Fargesia pleniculmis has the most uses, followed by Phyllostachys sulphurea with six usages, Dendrocalamus fugongensis and Fargesia praecipua with 5 usages each, and the least used bamboo species are Yushania farcticaulis and Neomicrocalamus prainii, which have only one use each (Figure 2).

Figure 2

Different uses of bamboo species.

Clothes

The Dulong blanket is representative of the Dulong people. Women blend cotton threads of different colors into colorful blankets using traditional hand-weaving methods. At least five bamboo species are required to weave a Dulong blanket (Figure 3A, B). Dendrocalamus fugongensis generally is used to push the yarn to save labor because the bamboo pole is large. Fargesia pleniculmis and F. praecipua are used to clamp the cotton yarn because the bamboo pole is almost solid. Cephalostachyum scandens is used to enwind the cotton yarn because the internode is relatively long, and there is no obstruction by the bamboo joints. Fargesia declivis is used to divide the yarn. Some women will put a few stones in the bamboo pole, and there will be a ticking sound when weaving to relieve boredom.

Figure 3

Bamboo species used by the Dulong people in daily life. (A–B) Bamboo species used in the process of Dulong blanket weaving: Fargesia pleniculmis (1), Dendrocalamus fugongensis (2), Cephalostachyum scandens (3), Fargesia praecipua (4), and Fargesia declivis (5); (C) bamboo shoot of F. pleniculmis; (D) bamboo shoot of D. fugongensis; (E) bedroom; (F) granary; (G) labor room; (H–I) bamboo fungus – Hypocrella bambusae; (J) bamboo bridge; (K) fence; and (L) ziptreck.

Bamboo Weaving

Dulong people have various bamboo tools, such as baskets, hats, brooms, cups, pipes, spoons, tea buckets, and flutes (Figure 4). These tools, made of different bamboo materials, have diverse functions and names. In particular, there are as many as ten varieties of bamboo baskets. When a guest enters the house of the Dulong people, the host may entertain the guest with cornmeal in a snack basket (“Gu qi”, Figure 4G) or a fruit basket (“Grong”, Figure 4F) packed with fruits. A Dulong man may carry a fish basket (“Xia bi”, Figure 4H) when fishing. The women may use needlework baskets (“Deng gong”, Figure 4E) while shopping. These woven bamboo products are indispensable in daily life.

Figure 4

Bamboo weavings and tools used by the Dulong people. (A) Pack basket; (B) sundries basket; (C) baking basket; (D) food basket; (E) fruit basket; (F) snack basket; (G) fish basket; (H) labor basket; (I) bamboo spade; (J) needlework basket; (K) square basket; (L) bamboo hat; (M) bamboo besom; (N) bamboo cup; (O) bamboo pipe; (P) bamboo spoon; (Q) tea bucket; (R) bamboo flute; (S) chicken coop; (T–V) fish trap; (W) bamboo quiver; (X) bamboo arrow; and (Y) animal trap.

Folk Classification of Bamboo Species

The Dulong people know about the altitude, morphology, and purpose of surrounding bamboo species. They can quickly find bamboo species according to their specific distribution, growth altitude, and morphological characteristics.

The altitude of the bamboo plant recorded in the field survey was the same as that provided by the informant (Table 1). As shown in Figure 2, D. fugongensis and N. prainii have the lowest altitudes, i.e., below 1500 m, and are close to the Dulong River, whereas some species, such as P. sulphurea and Ch. armata, are usually between 1500 and 2000 m, near the houses of the Dulong people. Solid bamboo vaieties, including Fargesia and Y. farcticaulis, for making crossbow arrows are distributed at the highest altitude, i.e., above 2000 m, and a few only exist on snowcapped mountains (Figure 5).

Bamboo species have different morphological characteristics. Adapting to and throuroughly using these characteristics, the Dulong people have developed various specific uses for diverse bamboo species. The Dulong people care about whether the bamboo is solid or poisonous, whether the bamboo split is pliable, and whether the length of the bamboo internodes is suitable for processing. For example, Fargesia species have a hard texture and are the best material for making crossbow arrows for hunting purposes. Cephalostachyum virulentum is toxic and is used mainly for fishing and hunting, and Ch. armata has thorns on bamboo nodes and is appropriate for making fences. The bamboo splits of P. sulphurea, D. fugongensis, and F. pleniculmis are pliable and suitable for weaving. The length of Ce. scandens internodes is up to 120 cm, appropriate for spinning. Whether the bamboo shoots are edible and their characteristics and taste are also important for the Dulong people to identify the uses of bamboo species. For example, Y. farcticaulis shoots are not edible, Ch. armata shoots are the most delicious, D. fugongensis shoots are the largest, and those of Fargesia sagittatinea have thorns (Figure 5).

The naming of bamboo species by the Dulong people also reflects the characteristics of their shape, e.g., “de” means big, “si” means solid, and “ri” means internode. Similarly, “de wa” refers to larger bamboo, “si wen” refers to solid bamboo, and “ri leng” refers to long internode bamboo (Table 1). Although the classification of bamboo by the Dulong people differs from scientific classification, the method has great significance in terms of practicability and accuracy for the Dulongjiang area (Wang & Pu, 2003). Folk taxonomy can make it easier for local people to participate in biodiversity conservation, compensate for the insufficiency of traditional classification work, and promote the rapid assessment of species diversity in local areas (Addi et al., 2022). Second, folk taxonomy helps conserve biodiversity in local communities (Wang et al., 2019). Traditional knowledge related to folk taxonomy is the knowledge accumulated by the local community and surrounding creatures in long-term interactions. Most of these are distinguished based on form, color, taste, time, habitat, purpose, habits, emotion, culture, and other bases for identifying organisms. These characteristics could provide insights into the protection of these species.

Figure 5

The basis for Dulong people to classify bamboo species.

Most Popular Bamboo Species

The RFC reflects the frequency of species reported in a specific area. The larger the RFC, the more the number of times the plant is mentioned and the higher its inferred value and importance in the corresponding region (Bano et al., 2014). The RFC values of all bamboo species ranged from 0.14–0.86, among which the highest was for P. sulphurea, followed by D. fugongensis, and F. pleniculmis, at 0.86, 0.81, and 0.76, respectively.

UV radiation reflects the relative importance of certain plants in a particular area (Zhang et al., 2020). The UV values of all bamboo species ranged from 0.14 to 3.92, among which the highest value was P. sulphurea (3.92), followed by D. fugongensis (2.76) and F. pleniculmis (2.41).

As indicated by their relatively high RFC and UV values, P. sulphurea, D. fugongensis, and F. pleniculmis were the most popular and useful species (Figure 6). These three types of bamboo are abundant and easy to obtain in the Dulongjiang area (Cheng et al., 2020). It can be considered the preferred bamboo species and material for the future development of bamboo shoots, bamboo materials, and bamboo weaving tools. The three kinds of bamboo plants have a wide range of uses and can be used to develop products related to these bamboo species, which play an important role in helping local people get rid of poverty, become rich, and reduce their dependence on forests.

Figure 6

The RFC and UV values of different bamboo species.

Traditional Management of Bamboos

The Dulong people traditionally cultivated and managed bamboo around their homegardens and villages to obtain bamboo material more conveniently and for ornamental purposes. Some farmers grow bamboo around their homegardens and farmlands to form natural fences to prevent the destruction of crops. These practices meet the needs of daily life and goods production and increase economic income. It is also a traditional knowledge system that promotes conservation through utilization and is of special significance for the conservation of bamboo genetic resources.

Slash-and-burn agriculture was the main mode of production for the Dulong people before the 1970s. It is still practiced on a small scale in the Dulongjiang region. Slash-and-burn cultivation is a land-use type that involves burning forests and clearing them for planting (Long et al., 1999). The slash-and-burn land from bamboo forests is an important component of the Dulongjiang area. People rely on fertilizers provided by bamboo to ensure production. The Dulong people are very good at managing bamboo forests and have gained rich production experience during long-term slash-and-burn cultivation. They have mastered the knowledge of the terrain, soil, seasons, crop properties, and slash-and-burn skills of bamboo forests and can identify bamboo forests suitable for cultivation. Different types of bamboo forests are used for different types of slash-and-burn land at different times. According to the type of bamboo, these lands can be divided into P. sulphurea slash-and-burn land, Ch. armata slash-and-burn land, F. pleniculmis slash-and-burn land, and F. praecipua slash-and-burn land. The Dulong people grow bamboo, together with corn and bean crops in rotation to form an agroforestry system, which not only promotes the protection and development of bamboo but also increases the income of the masses.

Protection of Traditional Biological Knowledge

With the development of road infrastrcuture in the Dulongjiang region, the lives of the Dulong people have undergone significant changes. Transitioning from the primitive mode of slash-and-burn cultivation, gathering, fishing, and hunting to recent poverty alleviation, the Dulong people have had no time to adapt (Cheng et al., 2020). With the acceleration of modernization, the TBK of the Dulong people will inevitably be affected to varying degrees (Cheng et al., 2022a). Finding ways and means to remove dross and preserve the essence, make traditional knowledge and modern civilization adaptable, avoid severe damage to the environment in the industrialization and modernization process, resolve the contradiction and realize the harmonious coexistence with nature are critical issues to be discussed.

The bamboo resources in the Dulongjiang area have been threatened mainly because of easier accessibility to the outside world and the more frequent onslaught of modern civilization, and the TBK of bamboo is at risk of loss (Figure 7). With the impact of external culture, an increasing number of tourists and external products have entered the Dulongjiang area. The lifestyle of the Dulong people is changing quietly. Cultural exchanges between ethnic groups will inevitably impact the traditional knowledge of the relatively small Dulong people (Du & Chen, 2019b). Intergenerational discontinuity is also an important reason for the loss of traditional knowledge (Luo et al., 2019). Most traditional knowledge is in the hands of the elderly, while the younger generations of the Dulong people are not very interested in these traditional methods. As the elderly pass away, their traditional knowledge faces the risk of disappearing. To solve these problems, the local government is making efforts to promote bamboo weaving and train technicians so that many young people can master bamboo weaving technology. It is still necessary to pay close attention to the protection of bamboo plants in new economic constructions. Many bamboo plants are distributed on both banks of Dulongjiang Valley and are greatly affected by artificial disturbances, such as road construction, grazing, landslides, and extreme weather. Furthermore, as a native species, bamboo plants have extremely high ornamental value. In recent years, the Dulongjiang area has vigorously developed tourism and many ornamental plants have been introduced on both sides of the road. The application of native bamboo plants in tourism development should be brought into full play.

Figure 7

Benefits and challenges of traditional botanical knowledge (TBK) related to bamboo.

Recommendations and Prospects

The Dulongjiang area is one of the original bamboo species centers in Southwest China. The resources of bamboo species are rich. As many as 27 species, specifically P. sulphurea, D. fugongensis, and Fargesia, have ample biomass (Geng et al., 2017). Such a high diversity of bamboo species resulted in the rich bamboo culture of the Dulong people (Yang et al., 2004b). The TBK of Dulong people related to bamboo has tremendous value in the developing bamboo industry. Giving full play to plants in production, life, and culture can alleviate the conflict between forest-edge communities and nature reserves, and promote biodiversity conservation in the Dulongjiang area.

The Dulongjiang area was the only settlement among the Dulong people. With the improvement of transportation and other economic activities, the Dulong people have been lifted out of poverty, and their main income has gradually been replaced by tourism and handmade products. In the future, the development of bamboo shoots, bamboo-derived medicine, bamboo weaving tools, handicrafts, and other industries should be a good choice for the Dulong people, which not only have traditional cultural characteristics but can also bring sustainable economic income (Lu et al., 2021). For example, the Dulong people process bamboo shoots to produce fermented and dried bamboo shoots, which are popular in local communities and markets. Bamboo-derived medicine refers to a fungus, Hypocrella bambusae, that grows on F. pleniculmis and has anti-inflammatory effects. Bamboo weaving tools are of great variety, highly ornamental, and usable. The vigorous development of these industries plays an important role in promoting the sustainable development of the economy in the Dulongjiang area (Figure 7).

Plastic-derived pollution is a global threat that affects nearly every land and freshwater ecosystem globally (Jambeck et al., 2015). Studies have shown that plastics and other non-degradable materials not only cause great harm to the environment but also pose great risks to human health (Borrelle et al., 2020). The use of reproducible  materials such as bamboo is considered more environmentally friendly. Bamboo has the characteristics of fast growth, quick maturity, high yield, diverse usage, and environmental protection and is becoming increasingly popular (Boadu et al., 2022). In the future, bamboo may be further developed as an environmentally friendly material with great potential.

In addition, bamboo is of great value for ecological protection and ornamental purposes (Zheng et al., 2021). The Dulongjiang area is the core of the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve. It promotes the bamboo culture of the Dulong people to become a symbol of the Dulongjiang area and accelerates the development of tourism. Rich bamboo resources can be exploited to make new contributions to the prosperity of the rural economy, the construction of ecological civilization, and the development of ecological tourism.