Characteristics of Guadua culms according to site and stage of maturity

From two natural bamboo stands dominated by the bamboo species guadua (Guadua angustifolia Kunth) located in sites with different ecological conditions, culms were assessed in order to elucidate possible changes in physical- mechanical properties and lignin content as well. Test pieces were collected from the two sites and were obtained from guadua culms with ages between 1 and 5 years. Among sites the values obtained of physical-mechanical properties and lignin content tend to increase with culms age; however, these changes were not always significantly different (p>0.05). Those culms from the warmer and drier site located at lower altitude showed on average values significantly (p<0.05) higher of the variables assessed. Considering the results obtained, culm maturity is an important factor influencing both physical-mechanical properties and lignin content, however ecological conditions determine larger differences in these variables to be considered for selecting bamboo culms when specific attributes are required by the market.