Life Sciences Commons^™

Wood And Wood-Based Residues In Animal Feeds, Andrew J. Baker, Merril A. Millett, Larry S. Satter

Aspen Bibliography

Cellulose is the most abundant, naturally renewable material on earth. It, and hemicellulose, make up about 70% of the dry weight of shrubs and trees. The cellulose of woody plants, however, is largely unavailable to ruminants because of the highly crystalline nature of the cellulose molecule and the existence of a lignin-carbohydrate complex. If convenient ways can be found to enhance the availability of wood cellulose to enzymatic or microbiological systems, wood residues could provide an additional renewable energy feed supply for a world that can maintain no contingency reserve of feedstuffs. It would permit utilization of the large quantities …