From this issue (Volume 22, No. 1, 2017), Journal of Forest Research is being published from Taylor & Francis, one of the world-leading academic publishers. The cover design and the page style are refreshed, while the aims and scope of this journal remains the same. Journal of Forest Research is the official journal of The Japanese Forest Society which publishes original articles, reviews and short communications, covering all aspects of forest research, both basic and applied, with the aim of encouraging international communication between scientists in different fields who share a common interest in forest science. For this purpose, membership in the society is not a prerequisite for publication in Journal of Forest Research.
Journal of Forest Research was first published with the editor-in-chief Prof. Taizo Hogetsu in 1996 from Springer, to be a leading international journal in forest science from Asia and Pacific. In 2005, name of the society was changed from The Japanese Forestry Society to The Japanese Forest Society, according to the change in the public expectation and interests to the forest under globalization and climate change. In 2007, online submission system was introduced, and in 2008, the first impact factor (IF) was released from ISI. The Journal of Forest Research Award (JFR Award) was established in 2009.
From 1996 to 2016, Journal of Forest Research has published 21 volumes with more than 1,100 articles on the forest and forestry issues worldwide. The number of author countries for the submitted manuscript in 2015 was 18 and the reviewers were distributed to 23 countries, not only in Asia but all over the world. Thus, Journal of Forest Research has become one of the major international journals on forest science and forestry issues. This steady advancement during these two decades was not possible without the continuous support from the previous partner, Springer. From now on, we will try to publish more articles rapidly to activate the communication on forest science. We hope many articles and reviews on all aspects of forest science and forestry issues will be submitted to Journal of Forest Research.
The importance of forest in global and local environmental issues is more and more increasing, and interdisciplinary communication and deeper understanding are of primary importance among diverse sciences related to forest such as biology, ecology, hydrology, climatology, geology, environmental science and socio-economy, etc. In the last volume, we have published the special feature “Climate change—mitigation, impacts and adaptation in the forestry sector” (Volume 21, issue 5).
The Japanese Forest Society and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Forest Research will continue our effort to activate international and interdisciplinary communication on forest science and forestry issues with the new partner, Taylor & Francis. In this volume 22 (2017), you will find a special feature titled “Radiocesium dynamics in forest ecosystems after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: experiences during the initial five years” edited by Prof. Tatsuhiro Ohkubo. In this special issue, many important findings on the impact of radiocesium contamination in forests and forest products by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011 and the progress in the decontamination measures undertaken in the 5 years will be reported and reviewed.
On behalf of the Editorial Board, I would like to express my gratitude to our readers, authors and publishers for their strong support to the journal, and we greatly appreciate your further contribution to Journal of Forest Research.