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ISSN: 0022-1201

Editor:
Don C. Bragg

 

Guide for Authors

Editorial Policy
The Journal of Forestry welcomes scientific and editorial manuscripts that advance the profession of forestry by presenting significant developments and ideas of general interest to forest management professionals. Submissions are welcome on any of the many facets of forestry, including economics, education and communication, entomology and pathology, fire, forest ecology, geospatial technologies, history, international forestry, measurements, policy, recreation, silviculture, social sciences, soils and hydrology, urban and community forestry, utilization and engineering, and wildlife management. Articles published in the Journal present, in a readable style, new and state-of-the-art knowledge, research, practices, ideas, and policies. Articles should be written as to be readable to a nonspecialist of the field being discussed, and topics of limited geographic or research scope should include a discussion of its implications beyond the initial area of research. Mini-series on topics of special interest are also published at the discretion of the editorial board. Manuscripts must not have been published previously and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

The Journal of Forestry is unique among forest science journals in that it is a membership benefit for the 14,000+ members of the Society of American Foresters. As a result, authors in the Journal of Forestry have the opportunity to educate and inform practitioners, researchers, policy specialists, and other professionals who benefit from the advancement of scientific knowledge in our profession. Accordingly, contributors are strongly encouraged to include a section addressing the management and/or policy implications of their research.

Acceptance for publication is based on both editorial criteria and peer review. Manuscripts are evaluated for methodology, technical accuracy, breadth of appeal, clarity, contribution, and merit. The Journal reserves the right to publish countering or supplemental articles to promote discussion.

The Society of American Foresters holds copyright to the Journal of Forestry, and authors will be asked to assign their rights before their contributions are published. A form will be provided for this purpose. Authors whose work is not subject to copyright, e.g., federal government employees, should so state when they submit their manuscripts.

Contact Matthew Walls, Managing Editor, if you have any questions or need further guidance. Journal of Forestry, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814-2198; (866) 897-8720, ext. 130; fax (301) 897-3690; wallsm@safnet.org.

Submission Guidelines
Each issue of the Journal of Forestry includes editorial features on timely topics in forestry as well as scientific articles offering more in-depth study and analysis. All scientific articles are peer-reviewed.

Supplemental Guidelines Regarding Submissions on International Forests and Forestry, click here.

Editorial Features
Commentaries—These short opinion pieces are not formally reviewed but are evaluated for content and style by the editors and/or editorial board; commentaries may be sent to outside reviewers depending on available expertise. Maximum length is 1,000 words. The contributor of a "Commentary" must be a member of the Society of American Foresters. Submit the manuscript, complete contact information, and a head-and-shoulders photograph online at http://www.rapidreview.com/SAF/author.html.

Letters—Letters should directly address ideas or facts presented in the Journal. Priority is given to letters no longer than 250 words that refer to material published within the past six months. Letters may be e-mailed to journal@safnet.org, faxed to (301) 897-3690, attention Editor, or mailed to Editor, Journal of Forestry, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814-2198.

Discussions—Longer opinion pieces will be considered for publication as "Discussion" articles. "Discussions" are evaluated for content and style by the editors and/or editorial board, but may be sent for outside review depending on available expertise. Maximum length is 4,500 words. Upon acceptance of a "Discussion", the evaluating editor will solicit two "Responses" (800-1,000 words each) from appropriate parties to the topic of the "Discussion" to accompany the final printed piece. Submit the manuscript, complete contact information, and a head-and-shoulders photograph online at http://www.rapidreview.com/SAF/author.html.

Exploring the Roots—These short introductions revisit seminal articles previously published by SAF and discuss topics of historical import to the field of forestry, as well as explore the historical basis for issues currently affecting forestry. Maximum length is 1,000 words. Proposals for "Exploring the Roots" columns may be e-mailed to journal@safnet.org, faxed to (301) 897-3690, attention Editor, or mailed to Editor, Journal of Forestry, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814-2198.

New Releases—"Forestry Reports" are complied by Carol Ayer (cayer@fs.fed.us), US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Library. Book reviews may be e-mailed to W. Keith Moser, Book Review Editor, at moserk@safnet.org, faxed to (301) 897-3690, attention Book Review Editor, or mailed to Book Review Editor, Journal of Forestry, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814-2198.

Scientific Articles
NEW — All manuscripts submitted as scientific articles to the Journal of Forestry must include a section, approximately 200 words in length, that describes in practical terms what the results of the scientific study portrayed in the article imply for the practice of forest management and policy. This implications section must be clear, concise, and germane to forest management and policy as we face it today. It must not be a restatement of the causes or objectives of the study, although it may be related to them. This section should be presented as a “Management and Policy Implications” box near the beginning of the published manuscript to assist readers in identifying the relevance of the presented research to their professional lives or personal interests.

Research Articles—Maximum length is 4,500 words (excluding tables, figures, and Literature cited), plus a 150-word abstract and 200-word “Management and Policy Implications” sidebar. Literature citations should in most cases number 20 or fewer. Journal style (including literature citations) is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th or 15th Ed. (University of Chicago Press) and Scientific Style and Formats: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Cambridge University Press). English units are preferred. Manuscript guidelines are presented below. Submit your manuscript online at http://www.rapidreview.com/SAF/author.html. Because the review process is double-blind, please ensure that authors are not identified anywhere in the manuscript (including running heads and feet).

Review Articles—Maximum length is 6,000 words (excluding tables, figures, and Literature cited), plus a 150-word abstract and 200-word “Management and Policy Implications” sidebar. There is no limit to the number of literature citations in a review article. Journal style (including literature citations) is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th or 15th Ed. (University of Chicago Press) and Scientific Style and Formats: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Cambridge University Press). English units are preferred. Manuscript guidelines are presented below. Submit your manuscript online at http://www.rapidreview.com/SAF/author.html. Because the review process is double-blind, please ensure that authors are not identified anywhere in the manuscript (including running heads and feet).

Practice of Forestry—Articles submitted as "Practice of Forestry" should bridge the gap between science and decisionmaking in the field of forest management. Articles submitted should address a compelling need of forest and land managers, and should present the latest science in a management context. Presentation may vary from a case study of a particular problem or technique to an interpretation of the latest literature within the context of a specific management problem or question. A short glossary of technical terminology used in the article may be included, as well as a short list of selected readings for further evaluation of the ideas presented in the article. Maximum length is 4,500 words (excluding tables, figures, and Literature cited), plus a 150-word abstract and 200-word “Management and Policy Implications” sidebar. Journal style (including literature citations) is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th or 15th Ed. (University of Chicago Press) and Scientific Style and Formats: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Cambridge University Press). English units are preferred. Manuscript guidelines are presented below. Submit your manuscript online at http://www.rapidreview.com/SAF/author.html Because the review process is double-blind, please ensure that authors are not identified anywhere in the manuscript (including running heads and feet).

Brief Communications—"Brief Communications" report preliminary or novel results on limited data sets or applications of existing methodologies to new areas. They are subject to the same review policies as research articles. Maximum length is 2,500 words (excluding tables, figures, and Literature cited), plus a 150-word abstract and 200-word “Management and Policy Implications” sidebar. Footnotes should be incorporated into the text wherever possible or be presented as endnotes. Journal style (including literature citations) is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th or 15th Ed. (University of Chicago Press) and Scientific Style and Formats: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Cambridge University Press). English units are preferred. Manuscript guidelines are presented below. Submit your manuscript online at http://www.rapidreview.com/SAF/author.html Because the review process is double-blind, please ensure that authors are not identified anywhere in the manuscript (including running heads and feet).

Style and Form
Nomenclature and Terminology-Common names are used for most plants and animals. Scientific names are included in parentheses following the first use of the common name. The Checklist of United States Trees (Native and Naturalized) by E.L. Little Jr. (Agriculture Handbook 541, USDA 1979) and the appendixes of Forest Cover Types of the United States and Canada (SAF 1980) are useful references for plant names. Technical usage in forestry and allied fields follows The Dictionary of Forestry (SAF 1998).

Mathematical Material-Articles submitted to the Journal of Forestry should only include mathematics if they are necessary to support the conclusions of the manuscript. See Scientific Style and Formats: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Cambridge University Press) for methods of presenting mathematical material in the simplest form to ensure accuracy and prompt publication of paper.

Literature Cited-Literature citations are to provide the reader with enough information to find a document from the appropriate source. This information should be stated in a clear and concise manner. Theses and unpublished papers may be included sparingly. Only those appearing in the text should appear in the citation list at the end of the article. Personal communications should be cited in the text and should include the affiliation of the person and the date of the communication: (John Helms, pers. comm., University of California-Berkeley, Aug. 10, 2006).

List all references alphabetically at the end of the paper and cite them parenthetically in the text by the author-date system, e.g. (Smith 2006). Directly quoted material must include the page number, e.g., (Smith 2006, p. 17). If a citation includes three or more authors, use ”et al.” where cited in the text, e.g., (Smith et al. 2006), but list authors accordingly with the citation: for citations with ten authors or fewer, all should be listed; for citations with eleven or more, only the first seven should be listed, followed by ”et al.” Where possible, limit the number of citations to three per set of parentheses. Arrange references cited together within parentheses chronologically. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 2006a, 2006b, etc.

Examples of Literature Cited style:
Book
Houghton, J.T., G.J. Jenkins, and J.J. Ephraums. 1990. Climate change: The IPCC scientific assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 365 p.

Chapter in book
Brokaw, N.V.L. 1982. Treefalls: Frequency timing and consequences. P. 101-108 in The ecology of a tropical forest: Seasonal rhythms and long term changes, Leigh, E.G., Jr., A.S. Rand, and D.M. Windsor (eds.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Article in journal
Jurgensen, M.F., J. Johnson, M.A. Wise, C.S. Williams, and R. Wilson. 1997. Impacts of timber harvesting on soil organic matter, nitrogen, productivity, and health of Inland Northwest forests. For. Sci. 43(2):234-251.

Proceedings
Blake, J.I., G.L. Somers, and G.A. Ruark. 1990. Perspectives on process modeling of forest growth responses to environmental stress. P. 9-20 in Proc. of conf. on Process modeling of forest growth responses to environmental stress, Dixon, R.K. (ed.). Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Technical report
Mason, R.R., and H.G. Paul. 1994. Monitoring larval populations of the Douglas-fir tussock moth and western spruce budworm on permanent plots: Sampling methods and statistical properties of data. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-333. 22 p.

Thesis/dissertation
Korol, R.L. 1985. The soil and water regime of uneven-age interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca). M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. 164 p.

Web publications
USDA Forest Service. 2002. The process predicament: How statutory, regulatory, and administrative factors affect national forest management. Available online at www.fs.fed.us/publications.html; last accessed Apr. 15, 2005.

Tables and Figures
The critical test for a table or figure is that it is the best way to communicate the information that it contains. Captions and titles for tables and figures should have enough detail so the table or figure will stand alone. Tables should not duplicate data presented in figures. Details about preparing tables and figures can be found in Scientific Style and Formats: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Cambridge University Press) and in The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th or 15th Ed. (University of Chicago Press). Suggestions for preparing clear tables and figures are presented in "What I Meant to Say Was..." Tips and Resources for Improving Your Professional Communication Skills (The Irland Group, RFD #2, Box 9200, Winthrop, Maine 04364).

All tables and figures must be cited in numerical order in the text. Place each table and figure on a separate page with its title at top. Place table titles and figure captions together at the end of the manuscript. Figures must be submitted as separate high-resolution EPS, TIFF, or JPG files. Do not embed figures within the manuscript file.

Tables should be double-spaced; however, exceedingly large tables may be single-spaced to reduce the number of pages they cover. Tables should be sized to fit on a single 8.5 by 11 page in portrait orientation NOT landscape. Total table width should be no more than 7 in.; total table height should be no more than 9.66 in. including the table title and table footnote(s). Table titles, column heads, and side heads should be in initial cap and lowercase, not all caps. Single-weight horizontal lines should go across the top of the table body, below the column headings, and below the table. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Units should appear under the column heading, but above the line separating the headings from the body of the table, except when two or more consecutive columns have the same units; then the unit is under the line separating the headings and the body, in parentheses, centered over the applicable column, and preceded and followed by ellipses extending over applicable columns. Table footnotes may be designated with numbers or letters or symbols; choose the one that is least confusing with other entries in the table (e.g., exponents, letters indicating significantly different means, and asterisks indicating significance) and be consistent among the tables. The sequence for symbols in table footnotes is asterisk, dagger, double dagger, section mark, parallel lines, number symbol. Use abbreviations consistent with SAF style. Common abbreviations are yr (year and years), dbh (not DBH), bd ft, mbf, ac, ha, ht, vol, m3, ft2, in. (inch and inches), cm, g, lb.

Figures may be maps, diagrams, photographs, or summaries of results, such as bar charts and line graphs. The line weight for rules should be at least 1 point (no hairline rules). Captions appear at the bottom of the figure in the journal, but are listed on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. Captions should not appear on the figure itself. Use abbreviations consistent with SAF style. Common abbreviations are yr (year and years), dbh (not DBH), bd ft, mbf, ac, ha, ht, vol, m3, ft2, in. (inch and inches), cm, g, lb. Labels for figures should be in initial cap and lowercase, not all caps. Avoid fake 3-D and other effects that add to the complexity of the figure, but not to its ability to communicate. Figures may be presented in color or black and white. There are no fees associated with the publication of color figures. If using black and white, use fill patterns or shadings with sufficient contrast so that they are distinguishable when reproduced in black and white. Avoid the use of gray or colored backgrounds in graphs and charts.

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