Bamboo for global sustainability: a systematic review of its environmental and ecological implications, climate action, and biodiversity contributions

Bamboo has garnered significant attention over the past two decades as a sustainable resource with a wide array of environmental benefits and emerged as a crucial resource in addressing global sustainability challenges. This systematic review synthesizes bibliometric data from the Web of Science (WOS), spanning 2004–2024, to explore the role of bamboo in global sustainability, focusing on its environmental advantages, biodiversity contributions, carbon sequestration potential, and the ecosystem services—provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural, it provides. Despite growing interest in bamboo’s ecological benefits, substantial research gaps exist regarding its long-term effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as the full extent of its role in mitigating climate impacts. This review aims to address these gaps by providing a comprehensive analysis of published research and offering new insights into bamboo’s multifaceted contributions to a number of environmental benefits and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). The novelty of this review lies in its integration of bibliometric analysis and qualitative synthesis, ensuring a more thorough understanding of trends, key research areas, and potential future directions. The methodology includes data extraction from WOS, followed by trend analysis, citation mapping, and thematic synthesis. Key findings reveal that bamboo plays a crucial role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity preservation, and soil conservation, while also enhancing water quality and mitigating land degradation. This indicates bamboo’s transformative potential in addressing climate change, promoting biodiversity, and supporting sustainable livelihoods. Furthermore, the study identifies critical gaps in research and policy integration, stressing the need for coordinated global efforts to fully realize bamboo’s benefits including its adaptability across different ecosystems, as well as its potential in combating global challenges such as climate change and deforestation. This review offers implications for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking sustainable solutions in land management, climate action, and biodiversity conservation. The findings underscore bamboo’s unique potential as an eco-friendly, low-cost, and scalable solution for fostering global sustainability. The benefits of this study extend to promoting bamboo’s integration into conservation practices and green infrastructure projects globally.