Ethical conduct is required of all participants in the publishing process (authors, journal editors, reviewers, editorial board, and publisher). To achieve this goal, the editorial office of Forest Research Papers implements a publishing policy based on the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Rules for the Editorial Committee

When making decisions, the Editorial Committee is guided by the principles of editorial policy.

The Editorial Committee consists of:

Editor-in-Chief,

Section Editors representing the main specialties of forest sciences,

Editorial Secretary.

The Editor-in-Chief is appointed and dismissed by the Director of the Forest Research Institute (IBL) (publisher). The term of office is three years. The IBL Director appoints the Editor-in-Chief after consulting the IBL Scientific Council, while Section Editors are invited to collaborate by the Editor-in-Chief for a single term, with the possibility of extension for subsequent terms.

The Editorial Secretary is appointed and dismissed by the Director of the Institute of Literature after consulting the Editor-in-Chief.

The Committee's duties include:

overseeing the development of the magazine and maintaining its high substantive and editorial standards,

conducting preliminary evaluation of articles and appointing independent reviewers,

reviewing the content of the review and, in case of doubt, appointing an additional reviewer,

qualifying articles for publication or rejecting them.

Editorial Policy Principles

The editorial team counteracts unfair practices, including defamation, copyright infringement, plagiarism, ghost writing, and guest authorship.

The editorial office applies a double-blind review policy; the identities of authors and reviewers are not disclosed.

The editorial office clearly defines the procedures for accepting articles for publication and publishes them on the journal's website.

Commercial considerations do not influence editorial decisions.

The editorial board prevents conflicts of interest between its members, authors, and reviewers.

Editors evaluate manuscripts for intellectual content without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political beliefs of the author(s).

Editors do not disclose information about manuscripts under consideration to anyone other than the author(s), reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher.

The editorial office is always prepared to publish corrections, explanations, and apologies when necessary.

Unpublished materials may not be used by editorial staff or reviewers without the written consent of the authors.

The editorial office ensures the confidentiality and security of the personal data of both authors and reviewers, as well as other members of the publishing process.

Reviewer Policy

The review should encourage the author to improve the manuscript and assist in editorial decision-making.

The reviewer should decline to evaluate the work if its thematic scope extends beyond their area of specialisation.

The reviewer is required to submit the review by the designated deadline; if this is not possible, they should immediately inform the editors, who may then assign the review to another person.

A review should be objective, honest, and constructive. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable.

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

The reviewer should disclose any instances of scientific misconduct, such as data manipulation, similarity to other works, or plagiarism (including self-plagiarism).

Rules for the Programme Council

The Programme Council consists of employees from foreign and Polish research units.

The Programme Council determines the main directions of the journal's activities in the field of forest sciences.

The Programme Council serves as the advisory and consultative body to the Editor-in-Chief.

Publisher's Policy

The journal publisher monitors compliance with adopted ethical principles by editors, reviewers, and authors. The publisher ensures compliance with copyright law. The publisher accepts complaints about editorial work and strives to resolve problems. In cases of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism, the publisher, in close cooperation with the editorial staff, takes appropriate measures to resolve the situation. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum or, in the most serious cases, complete retraction of the paper.

Author Policy

Authors may submit for publication only their own scientific works: original articles, reviews, discussions, short communication, book reviews, and miscellanea.

The author must submit a declaration of the originality of the work, its ethical compliance, the contribution of individual authors, and any conflicts of interest.

Authors of original papers should provide a thorough description of the work performed, the results obtained, and an objective discussion of their significance. The article should include sufficient detail and references to enable others to replicate the research. False or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

Publications by other authors used in the work must be properly cited.

Authorship of the manuscript should be limited to those who made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study results. Other contributors should be listed in the Acknowledgements section.

Ghost writing and guest authorship are prohibited and are regarded by the editorial staff as manifestations of unethical behaviour and scientific misconduct.

Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously constitutes unethical publishing behaviour.

The lead author should ensure that all co-authors have approved the final version of the work and agreed to its submission for publication.

Authors of articles concerning animal research should attach an appropriate certificate from the Local Ethics Committee to the manuscript.

All authors should disclose in the manuscript any financial or other relevant conflicts of interest that could be construed as influencing the results or their interpretation.

The author must disclose all sources of financial support for the research.

If a significant error is identified in a published work, the author should immediately notify the journal's editor or publisher and, in cooperation with them, withdraw the article or publish an appropriate erratum.