Journal profile · Forestry
Forest Science
ISSN 0015-749X · eISSN 1938-3738 · Society of American Foresters · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly
Forest Science: CAS Zone 4 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.94; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,690; median 180 days to acceptance (81 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 51 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
The latest issue on the journal's website is from October 2024 (Volume 70, Issue 5-6): the journal may have stopped publishing or moved platform in the last two years. Check its website before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Forest Science is published by Society of American Foresters and is in Zone 4 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Forest ecology and management, Forest Management and Policy and Forest Insect Ecology and Management, together about 39.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Forest Science is a peer-reviewed journal publishing fundamental and applied research that explores all aspects of natural and social sciences as they apply to the function and management of the forested ecosystems of the world. Topics include silviculture, forest management, biometrics, economics, entomology & pathology, fire & fuels management, forest ecology, genetics & tree improvement, geospatial technologies, harvesting & utilization, landscape ecology, operations research, forest policy, physiology, recreation, social sciences, soils & hydrology, and wildlife management. Forest Science currently holds an Impact Factor of 1.5 (2023 Journal Impact Factor, Journal Citation Reports (Source Clarivate, 2024)). Forest Science is published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Forestry
Editor-in-chief Mike R. SaundersPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Forest ecology and managementEnvironmental Science20.6%
- Forest Management and PolicyEnvironmental Science12.4%
- Forest Insect Ecology and ManagementEnvironmental Science6.1%
- Forest Biomass Utilization and ManagementEngineering5.9%
- Seedling growth and survival studiesEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR ApplicationsEnvironmental Science5.5%
- Fire effects on ecosystemsEnvironmental Science5.4%
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Forestry | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Forestry | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Forestry | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.94LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2024
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 69LetPub ·
- h-index
- 152OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,774OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.15OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 15.79%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,383 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 32 | 18 | 3 |
| 2025 | 51 | 15 | 50 |
| 2024 | 31 | 4 | 78 |
| 2023 | 55 | 16 | 229 |
| 2022 | 62 | 16 | 312 |
| 2021 | 72 | 15 | 442 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
180 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 137 days – 244 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 40 days (82 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 212 days
- Sample
- 81 articles with submission and acceptance dates (83 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 12–24 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,690 / EUR 3,790 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 250 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted6
- brief communicationPreliminary or novel results on limited scientific data sets or applications of existing methodologies to new research areas. Word limits 1,700 maximum (excludi…Length not stated
- brief communicationsBrief Communications Preliminary or novel results on limited scientific data sets or applications of existing methodologies to new research areas.Length not stated
- editorialForest Science seeks manuscripts that either report significant research in subjects related to forestry broadly defined, or report investigations into manageme…Length not stated
- original research articlesOriginal Research Articles (excluding tables, figures, and literature cited)Length not stated
- review articleReview Articles provide syntheses of the current knowledge in broad topical areas of current importance. Review Articles should consider diverging paths of thou…Length not stated
- review articlesReview Articles provide syntheses of the current knowledge in broad topical areas of current importance.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Use of Artificial Intelligence
AI use must be disclosed; AI tools do not qualify as authors. Model summary
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, or process data) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE position statemen…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship Policy
Forest Science credits authorship to those who have made a substantial contribution to the submitted manuscript. Authorship constitutes the following roles in manuscript development: The individual has participated sufficiently in the research, design, or analysis of the study. The individual has participated in the drafting, critical review, and evaluation of the manuscript. The individual agrees…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest disclosure required for each author. Model summary
Each author must reveal any financial interests or connections, direct or indirect, or other situations that might raise the question of bias in the work reported or the conclusions, implications, or opinions stated – including pertinent commercial or other sources of funding for the individual author(s) or for the associated department(s) or organization(s), personal relationships, or direct acad…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
This journal is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) publicationethics.org
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Copyright held by SAF; authors assign rights; exclusive license to OUP or sponsoring society. Model summary
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) holds copyright to Forest Science, and authors will be asked to assign their rights before their contributions are published.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Green OA after 12-month embargo; OA licences available with charges; member discounts possible. Model summary
SAF is committed to advancing the science, education, technology, and practice of forestry. In support of this mission, SAF journals allow authors to post the accepted, pre-print version of their manuscript on the author's personal website or deposit the article into any institutional repository maintained by the author's employer after a 12-month embargo. This is often referred to as "Green Open …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review; submissions via Editorial Manager; Chicago Manual of Style 17th ed.; double-anonymized manuscript requirements. Model summary
All scientific articles are evaluated through a double-blind peer review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Preprint posting allowed and does not prevent submission. Model summary
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiv…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Society of American Foresters
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- ISSN
- 0015-749X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-3738
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 70, Issue 5-6 (October 2024)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Forest Science
What CAS zone is Forest Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Forest Science is in Zone 4 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Forestry. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Forest Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.94; CiteScore 3.1, h-index 152.
How long does peer review take at Forest Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 81 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 180 days (interquartile range 137–244 days); authors report an average review time of 12–24 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Forest Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Reference style: Chicago; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index Forest Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Forest Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Forest Science open access, and what is the APC?
Forest Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,690.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .