| Abstract from DBPedia | Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic material – a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or woodchips or fiber. Wood has been used for thousands of years for fuel, as a construction material, for making tools and weapons, furniture and paper. More recently it emerged as a feedstock for the production of purified cellulose and its derivatives, such as cellophane and cellulose acetate. As of 2005, the growing stock of forests worldwide was about 434 billion cubic meters, 47% of which was commercial. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, woody materials have been of intense interest as a source of renewable energy. In 1991 approximately 3.5 billion cubic meters of wood were harvested. Dominant uses were for furniture and building construction.木材（もくざい）とは、様々な材料・原料として用いるために伐採された樹木の幹の部分を指す呼称。 その用途は、切削など物理的加工（木工）された木製品に限らず、紙の原料（木材パルプ）また、薪炭材（しんたんざい。薪や木炭）に留まらない化学反応を伴うガス化・液化を経たエネルギー利用や化学工業の原料使用、飼料化などもある。樹皮を剥いだだけの木材は丸太（まるた）と呼ばれる。材木（ざいもく）も同義だが、これは建材や道具類の材料などに限定する場合もある。 日本でもヨーロッパでも一般的には木材名は樹木名と同一であるが、木材業界や木工関係者・工芸家などの間では、生産地、樹齢、生育環境、製材方法、その他の処理によって特定の木材に特定の呼び名を用いることがある（ブラウン・オークやボグ・オークなど）。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Wood) |
