Bamboo Spreading Impacts as a Watershed Conservation Strategy in Upstream Area of Three Big Rivers of Sumatra

Abstract

Water is the source of life. The uncontrolled use of natural resources is currently causing the massive pollution of rivers in Sumatra, so the availability of clean water for people's lives is started to decrease. One of the efforts to conserve watersheds is to preserve riparian vegetation. Where there is a source of water, there is bamboo. Bamboo that grows in riparian areas has a root system that can prevent erosion and filter water, increasing clean water availability. The purpose of this study was to conduct an inventory, study of ecology, and indicate environmental factors of bamboo species that can potentially maintain riparian environmental conditions, which can later be developed as soil and water conservation plants in the Sumatran watershed. This research was conducted in the riparian areas in upstream of three major Sumatran rivers: Kuantan, Kampar, and Rokan. We recorded 20 species of bamboo plants from 5 genera in three major rivers of Sumatra. The Rokan watershed has environmental conditions that are still maintained with low human activity so that the diversity of bamboo upstream of the Rokan river is high and is still well maintained. Meanwhile, the Kuantan and Kampar watersheds have a lot of human activities along the river, so the bamboo vegetation has been exploited in these two areas. Based on Canonical Correspondence Analysis, Bambusa vulgaris is found suitable for cultivation in Kuantan and Kampar watersheds, which is abundant in these watersheds as well as has high tolerance range for polluted watershed. We recommend that B. vulgaris be used as riparian vegetation for soil and water conservation in polluted watersheds.