About the Journal

BACKGROUND and RATIONALE

Climate change is negatively impacting agriculture and food security - phenomenon that makes the challenge of ending hunger and malnutrition even more difficult; especially, in Africa, Asia, and Latin American countries. As such, with the increasing impacts of global climate change, the depletion of forest resources, and the increased degradation of the world's environment, there is a need for more sustainable development. Sustainable development and growth can be achieved by the improved management of ecosystems and the more strategic use of water, land, and other natural resources such as trees which are crucial for curbing loss in forest biodiversity that helps to support environmental ecosystem health and local livelihoods enhancements. Remarkably, bamboos can help solve the world housing and climate crises. This is because, the utilization of bio-based materials in modern building construction is a viable solution to global housing shortages, while at the same time contributing to the mitigation of global warming and achieving carbon neutrality.

Bamboo and rattan resources have tremendously gained popularity in the field of sustainable development. Thus, international initiatives focusing on this topic have raised awareness among both donors and recipients. Largely because woody bamboos are wonderful replacements for tropical hardwood trees because of their short growth cycles and a high carbon dioxide exchange rates. Bamboo forestry promotes avoided tropical deforestation of hardwood and redwood. Despite that many Global South countries are naturally endowed with several native and introduced bamboo species coupled with the tremendous potential for utilization of bamboo as a modern industrial raw material for uses ranging from paper pulp, bioenergy, food, landscape restoration, and alternative to timber and plastic, there is no dedicated bamboo based global research journal that is accessible and affordable to scientists in developing countries. Therefore, the International Journal of Bamboo and Rattan (IJBAR) fills that lacuna towards communicating translational research outcomes from tropical countries on bamboo research to the global scientific community.

Using the IJBAR as a research outreach platform, we hope to strengthen relationships with local communities, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and bamboo value chain investors at both domestic and international levels.

 

AIMS & SCOPE

International Journal of Bamboo and Rattan (IJBAR) is a refereed, peer-reviewed, and bi-annual Journal. IJBAR publications must be of interest to an international audience, hypothesis-driven, and replicable. IJBAR publishes original research papers and short communications, review articles and case studies at the nexus between bamboo resource, agriculture, forestry, and natural ecosystems. The scope of the Journal extends to the environmental management and economic aspects of biomass relating to bamboo and rattan, bioenergy, value chains development, food security, climate change, environmental sustainability law, pharmacology, toxicology, taxonomy, biotechnology and genetics, livestock fodders production and processing, vocational and technical education, sustainable development, economics of bamboo and rattan, financial cooperatives and enterprises, insurance and bamboo/rattan farming, apiculture and wildlife conservation, etc. In other words, the IJBAR will focus on woody bamboo and rattan resources, chemical and biological processes, biomass products processing and utilization for new renewable sources of energy and materials with emphasis on basic and applied scientific research relevant to practical problems in the field of plant and soil sciences, food security, forest and wildlife ecology, bioremediation and biogeography of bamboo distribution as affected by weather, climate variability and climate change, remote sensing/GIS for bamboo and rattan assessment and monitoring. Theoretical models should be tested against experimental data. Special issues devoted to single topics will also be published.

Key areas covered by the Journal:

  • Bamboo and rattan biomass assessment: sources, silviculture of the product, classification, physiology, growth, properties, ecology and management of bamboo genetic improvements, composition and remote sensing/GIS applications. Please note that research on these biomass subjects must be linked directly to bamboo assessment.
  • Biological Residues: residues/rests from bamboo based agricultural production, agroforestry and plantations and bamboo processing industries. Articles on the use of biomass residues through innovative processes/technological novelty and/or consideration of feedstock system sustainability or unsustainability, are welcomed.
  • Bamboo Utilization Processes: fermentations, thermochemical conversions, liquid and gaseous fuels, and petrochemical substitutes, foodstuffs, medicines, cosmetics, biochemical, textiles.
  • Bamboo for bioenergy utilization: energy production processes, direct combustion, gasification, electricity production, chemical processes, and by-product remediation.
  • Bamboo and the Environment: Bamboo and the Environment: Bamboo and rattan as a nature-based solutions, carbon cycle to remove carbon dioxide (CDR) from the atmosphere, the net energy efficiency of bioenergy systems, assessment of sustainability, and biodiversity issues. Climate change, Propagation and Nursery Technology of forestry species like bamboo and rattan (Micropropagation & Vegetative propagation; DNA barcoding bamboo and rattan for precise identification at species level; Germplasm Collection and Evaluation of bamboo and rattan; Reproductive biology and hybridization of bamboo; Development of tools for harvesting and management of bamboo; Certification of quality planting material (QPM) in bamboo; Development of management protocols of bamboo and rattan nurseries and plantations; Processing and preservation methods for edible bamboo shoots.
  • Bamboo bioremediation potential: especially, as a phytoremediation capacities to removing heavy metals and toxins from soils with crude oil pollution.
  • Bamboo for ecosystems restoration or remediation: to tap the potential of bamboos to improve water conservation, regulate stream flow and control floods, remediate erosion gullies, etc.
  • Bamboo and people: Papers communicating socio-cultural impacts of bamboo and rattan and bamboo policies analyses, are welcome for publication.

Benefits to authors

On request, we might provide author with free PDFs, a liberal copyright policy, special discounts on Elsevier publications and much more.

EDITORIAL SETUP

IJBAR is a bi-annual (i.e. twice per year) Journal. The average number of weeks from Submission to Publication is 13.

Accepting/ handling/ deciding editor: Ir. John Agbo OGBODO

 

IJBAR Publisher:
Sahelian Institute For Bamboo Research and Entrepreneurship Development (SIBRED)
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria