Publication Ethics Statement

The Forest Engineering pursues the latest scientific research achievements in the field of forestry, adheres to the principle of authenticity, innovation and refinement, aims to promote the construction of ecological environment, the cultivation, protection and comprehensive utilization of forestry resources, takes promoting academic exchanges, teaching and scientific research in the field of forestry as its own responsibility, pays attention to academic ethics, and promotes innovative spirit. It also maintains academic integrity, resists academic misconduct, strengthens the team building of editors and reviewers, and abides by publication ethics. The Forest Engineering adheres to the principle of upholding high standards of publication ethics, and practices this commitment by providing transparent and standardized services, and providing correct advice when finding academic misconduct in authors’ articles. We have listed below some of the most important principles of publication ethics for the reference of contributors. Please refer to the official website of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (http://www.publicationethics.org/) and publishing moral standards stipulated by the European Association of Science Editors (EASE).

1. Publication Ethics of Authors

It is the author’s obligation to show that the paper is the original research work (except for the review) and free of any falsification, deception or plagiarism. This paper should not involve state secrets, or any infringement related to intellectual property rights. The authors ensure that no more than one draft of the paper has been submitted, and its content has not been published in any other publications or media in any other language. The authors should ensure that no other publications will be submitted before receiving the rejection notice from the editorial department.

The cited documents have been clearly marked with the citation source, and a list has been made in the way of reference. The organizations and individuals that provided scientific funding and consultation for the paper have been listed in the acknowledgements. Respect the editing opinions of reviewers and editors. Agree that after the paper is published, the exclusive licensing right and exclusive agency right of the paper will be granted to the editorial department of the Forest Engineering.

The author must avoid the following academic misconduct:

(1) Multiple submissions of one draft:

The author is obliged to ensure the originality of the paper submitted, and confirm that it has never been published. Deliberately republishing a published paper is a serious violation of publication ethics.

The most important principle is that papers should be original and not submitted to other journals at the same time. If the paper has been published in different forms (including different languages), or if similar papers have been published or translated, the author should explain it while submitting.

(2) Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is one of the most common violations of publication ethics. It refers to the author’ deliberate and unauthorized use of other people’s works without the consent of the originator, without reference or acknowledgment. Forms of plagiarism involve direct reposting and rewriting of the work of others, including data, words, sentences, paragraphs, ideas and concepts. We do not allow any plagiarism.China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) "Academinc Misconduct Literature Check (AMLC)" will be adopted before each manuscript is stored to detect plagiarism, forgery, tampering, improper authorship, multiple submission of one manuscript and other academic misconduct.

(3) Coauthor/Author identity:

The identification of the authorship is to ensure that those who contributed to the study are recognized and that they are responsible for the study. Deliberately distorting the relationship between the researcher and the study is improper and undermines the credibility of the study results. The authors must obtain the authorization and consent of the co-authors before submitting the paper.

(4) Originality:

Authors should not re-submit published data as source materials, except when the author clearly informs and appropriately quotes.

(5) Research fraud:

Research fraud refers to the fact that data or conclusions are not obtained from experiments or research, but are falsified and tampered with by the author. Under no circumstances should researchers cheat.

(6) Author’s Fee:

The licensing fee for the rights in the journal is offset against the review fee for the paper, and no additional fee should be paid. The layout fee is required when the paper is published.

2. Publication Ethics of Peer-reviewed Experts

To ensure scientific and accurate review of manuscripts, and make objective and fair evaluations. The content of the review shall be strictly confidential and the author’s research results shall be respected. Avoid manuscripts with interests.

(1) Make use of their professional knowledge and ability to review the innovative, scientific and practical manuscripts. Put forward fair evaluation on whether the research method is appropriate, whether the scientific research design is reasonable, whether the results and conclusions are accurate, and whether there is any leakage, so as to help editors judge the choice of manuscripts. Put forward detailed revision suggestions for the problems existing to help the author improve the quality of the paper.

(2) The manuscripts reviewed shall only be evaluated academically, without personal evaluation or personal attack. The selection and rejection of the manuscripts shall not be affected by the race, sex, religion, belief, status, seniority and authority of the contributors, and their views shall be clearly stated with sufficient arguments and facts.

(3) Fill in the review comments on the manuscript on time, and feed back to the editorial department within the specified time. If it cannot be completed on time, please explain the situation and return the manuscript.

(4) Strictly keep the reviewed manuscripts confidential, do not circulate or discuss them to others, and do not use and publish the data, opinions and conclusions of the reviewed manuscripts. If you want to use them, you shall obtain the consent of the author.

(5) The reports and arguments clearly quoted in the preliminary research of the paper must clearly indicate the source. The reviewer shall confirm the published works not quoted by the author, explain the similarity or repetition between the submitted paper and the published papers and data to the author according to his knowledge and cognition.

(6) All comments and information shall be kept confidential and not be used for personal purposes. Reviewers shall not review papers with conflicts of interest arising from competition or cooperation with papers authors, units or enterprises.

3. Publication Ethics of Editors

Strictly implement relevant national laws and regulations, and abide by academic publication ethics and norms. Handle all contributions in a timely and fair manner, respect the author’s research results, and respect the opinions of reviewers. Keep the information of authors and reviewers confidential. Avoid accepting papers for human favors.

(1) Editors shall be responsible for all the editorial links of the journal, including continuously promoting the development of the journal and ensuring that the edited manuscripts are published on time with high quality. Editors shall abide by the policies formulated by the editorial board of the journal, as well as the relevant laws and regulations concerning defamation, infringement and plagiarism in selecting articles.

(2) Keep the authenticity of the review records, and have the obligation to keep confidential the materials in all links of review and modification. The editor and staff of the editorial department shall not disclose any information about the submitted paper to others except to provide necessary information to corresponding authors, reviewers and members of the editorial board as appropriate.

(3) The fair selection of manuscripts and the acceptance or rejection of articles can only be based on the originality, importance, clarity of the paper and whether it conforms to the purpose and scope of the journal.

(4) When there are major modifications in the edited paper, it is necessary to communicate with the author in a timely manner and obtain the author’s consent.

(5) Eliminate all commercial needs and interest exchange that are detrimental to academic ethics.

(6) The editor has the obligation to investigate and communicate academic misconduct. Once there is an academic ethical appeal for submitting a paper or publishing an article, the editor shall take effective measures. If necessary, corrections, clarifications, withdrawals or apologies should be released in a timely manner. Editors have the obligation to hold authors and reviewers accountable for misconduct.

(7) Editors should ensure that the information submitted by authors cannot be used for personal research or for research by others; they should ensure that the identities of reviewers and other editorial staff are protected during the blind review process.

(8) The editors shall encourage academic contention and have the obligation to reply to the authors' different views on the reviewers’ opinions.

(9) Editors shall ensure that the review of papers is fair and reasonable. In case of conflict of interest or cooperative relationship with the authors, units and enterprises related to the paper due to competition and cooperation, the editor shall propose to replace the reviewer, and the chief editor or other editorial board members shall be responsible for the review of the paper.

4. Publication Ethics of Readers

In case of editor’s dereliction of duty, lax inspection and academic misconduct, readers can complain to the editorial department, editorial board, sponsor and competent unit of the Forest Engineering. If that is the case, appropriate punishment or public apology will be given.

5. Advertising

No advertisement is allowed in the journal.