ABSTRACT
Forests, covering about 30% of the earth’s land area, are a major component in the global ecosystem, influencing the carbon cycle, climate change, habitat protection, clean water supplies, and sustainable economies (FAO 2011). Globally, the vast cellulosic resource found in forests provides about half of all major industrial raw materials for renewable energy, chemical feedstock, and biocomposites (Winandy et al. 2008). Although forests and forest products have been used since the dawn of time, exciting new opportunities are emerging for sustainably meeting global energy needs and simultaneously creating new high-value biobased products from forests.
