Journal profile · Forestry
Journal of Forestry
ISSN 0022-1201 · eISSN 1938-3746 · Society of American Foresters · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly
Journal of Forestry: CAS Zone 4 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.2; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,890; median 166 days to acceptance (91 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 69 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
The latest issue on the journal's website is from November 2024 (Volume 122, 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
Journal of Forestry 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 Management and Policy, American Environmental and Regional History and Earthquake and Disaster Impact Studies, together about 36.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
In print since 1902, Journal of Forestry has received several national awards for excellence. The mission of the journal is to advance the profession of forestry by keeping forest management professionals informed about significant developments and ideas in the many facets of forestry: 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. The Journal of Forestry has a 2024 Impact Factor of 1.8 (2024 Journal Impact Factor, Journal Citation Reports (Source Clarivate, 2025)). The Journal is published bimonthly: January, March, May, July, September, and November.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Forestry
Editor-in-chief Brenda McCombPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 3 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Forest Management and PolicyEnvironmental Science20.6%
- American Environmental and Regional HistoryEnvironmental Science8%
- Earthquake and Disaster Impact StudiesSocial Sciences7.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.9%
- Forest ecology and managementEnvironmental Science6.3%
- Urban and spatial planningEnvironmental Science6.2%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.8%
- Forest Biomass Utilization and ManagementEngineering4.5%
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 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| 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
- 2.2LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2024
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.56LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- h-index
- 65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 114OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,882OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.38OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 41.22%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 66LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 23,142 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | 29 | 5 |
| 2025 | 69 | 32 | 128 |
| 2024 | 31 | 8 | 67 |
| 2023 | 54 | 23 | 273 |
| 2022 | 56 | 11 | 400 |
| 2021 | 73 | 18 | 601 |
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
166 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 122 days – 219 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 43 days (91 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 209 days
- Sample
- 91 articles with submission and acceptance dates (113 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)
- over 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 3,890 / EUR 3,290 / GBP 2,790 | — | — | |
| 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.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- USD 250
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 150 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
- Not considered
- AI tools as authors
Article types accepted10
- brief communicationPreliminary or novel results on limited scientific data sets or applications of existing methodologies to new research areas. Word limit: 2,500 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
- editorialGuide for Authors The Journal of Forestry seeks manuscripts that advance the profession of forestry by presenting significant developments and ideas of general …Length not stated
- editorial featuresEditorial FeaturesLength not stated
- field notesField Notes New field techniques, novel computer algorithms or software applications, and interesting results from non-replicated administrative studies are som…Length not stated
- lettersLetters Directly address ideas or facts presented in the Journal within the past six months.Length not stated
- original research articlesOriginal Research Articles (excluding tables, figures, and literature cited)Length not stated
- picture the pastPicture the Past Preserve and share the visual legacy related to historic images of forests, forestry, lumbering, or the processing of forest products.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 disclosure 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
Authorship criteria Model summary
Journal of Forestry credits authorship to those who have made a substantial contribution. 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 to be accountable for t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest disclosure 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 license to SAF Model summary
It is a condition of publication in Journal of Forestry that authors grant an exclusive license to the Society of American Foresters.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Journal of Forestry offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution. Should you wish to publish your article open access, you sho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
All scientific articles are evaluated through a double-blind peer review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Originality requirement 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
- 0022-1201
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-3746
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 122, Issue 5-6 (November 2024)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Forestry
What CAS zone is Journal of Forestry in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Forestry 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 Journal of Forestry?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.2; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 114.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Forestry?
Based on the dates recorded on 91 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 166 days (interquartile range 122–219 days); authors report an average review time of over 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 Journal of Forestry?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 150 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Forestry based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Forestry?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Forestry is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Forestry open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Forestry is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,890.
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: .