Plant biomass resources are seen as a vast reservoir of potential to be unlocked as sustainable fiber, fuel, and chemical feedstock for the 21st century. Vital to the achievement of this promise are fundamental investigations on the nature and industrial application of lignocellulosic materials.

This volume brings together a broad array of scientific expertise to focus on the characterization and utilization of cellulosic materials. Researchers from Austria, Germany, Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. explore many facets of the plant cell wall, from its fundamental structure and its manipulation via molecular biology to its application in composite materials. Exciting applications of near infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, confocal microscopy, and molecular coupling as a viscoelastic probe provide new insights into the ultrastructure and properties of cellulosic materials.

In total this volume represents a unique contribution to both our understanding and our vision for the sustainable use of biobased materials. Scientists, graduate students and applied researchers in the fields of wood science and technology, cellulose science and biomaterials will find it stimulates their thinking about research, application and interdisciplinary collaboration.