Alternatively, the more condensed structure of the modified lignin ... the consequence of modified lignin plants decomposing more slowly over the longer term would be that carbon would be held ...
Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin form structures called microfibrils, which are organized into macrofibrils that mediate structural stability in the plant cell wall.
in the primitive plant, Selaginella. Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation; Selaginella cross section SEM by Jing-Ke Weng, Clint Chapple, Purdue University; Lignin structure from Wout Bergjan ...