About the Journal
Presentation
The Revista do Instituto Florestal (RIF) is a continuous flow scientific journal published by the Environmental Research Institute of the state of São Paulo. It was established in 1989, resulting from the merger of two previous publications: Silvicultura em São Paulo (1962) and Boletim Técnico IF (1972). This interdisciplinary, open-access journal publishes works in Forestry Sciences and related fields, including scientific articles, scientific notes, and review articles, written in Portuguese, English, or Spanish.
Focus and Scope
RIF publishes manuscripts in the following thematic areas: Urban Arborization; Protected Areas and Nature Conservation; Communication in Forestry Sciences; Wildlife Conservation; Ecology; Forest Economics and Policy; Urban Forests; Forest Genetics and Breeding; Geography and Environmental Planning; Forest Hydrology; Forest Management; Climate Change and its Impacts on Forest Ecosystems; Forest Restoration; Agroforestry Systems (SAFs); Silviculture; Plant Taxonomy and Phytogeography; Forest Products Technology.
Indexing Sources
RIF is indexed in the following sources: Academic Journal Database; AGRIS – International System of Agricultural Science and Technology; DOAJ – Directory of Open Access Journals; Latindex – Regional Online Information System for Scientific Journals in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal; Miguilim (IBICT); OALib – Open Access Library; CAPES Journal Portal; ROAD – Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources.
Submission, Peer Review, and Publication Process
Manuscripts submitted for publication in the Revista do Instituto Florestal must be original, unpublished, and not under simultaneous consideration by another journal. The text must adhere to the publication standards described in the Instructions for Authors.
Before entering the editorial process, manuscripts are subjected to plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin, CopySpider, and similar tools. The journal also requests that authors verify their article's compliance with the FAPESP Code of Good Scientific Practice https://fapesp.br/boaspraticas/.
The manuscript is assigned by the editor-in-chief of the Editorial Board to a reviewer in the relevant field, who will send it to two referees, specialists in that area. The review process is double-blind, keeping the identities of the authors and reviewers confidential. The manuscript will be assessed and receive one of the following evaluations: acceptable without modifications; acceptable with modifications; requires complete revision and resubmission for a new review; rejected for publication.
After the review, the reviewers' comments and suggestions are forwarded to the authors for necessary revisions. Any unaccepted suggestions must be justified. After revisions, the corrected version is resubmitted to the area editor of the Commission. Based on the reviewers' opinions, the editor will decide whether to accept the paper, request another round of evaluation, or reject it.
Once accepted, the paper is formatted, and the publication proofs are sent to the authors for a final review (limited to errors and composition) and must be returned within the indicated deadline.
After the authors approve the final proof, the article is published. The average time between manuscript submission and publication is six months. Authors are notified as soon as the article is published.
Periodicity
Starting in 2024, RIF will publish articles on a continuous basis (continuous flow).
Open Access Policy
Published works are open access, freely accessible, and downloadable without charge. There are no submission or publication fees.
The collection is available on the OJS platform at https://rif.emnuvens.com.br/revista/ and the Environmental Research Institute's website at https://www.infraestruturameioambiente.sp.gov.br/institutoflorestal/publicacoes-if/revista-do-if/.
Copyright
The content of the journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution BY license.
Archiving and Repository Policy
RIF utilizes the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) archiving service provided by the OJS platform and the Environmental Research Institute's website. Regarding the repository policy, RIF is registered with DIADORIM (Directory of Editorial Policies of Brazilian Scientific Journals), managed by the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT).
Scientific Dissemination
The journal has a technical partnership with the Bori Scientific Dissemination Agency https://abori.com.br/ for the dissemination of published articles, as an instrument for the popularization of science. The selection of articles is made by the agency itself. This dissemination provides greater visibility to the article's topic, content, authors, and involved institutions, making the content accessible in language appropriate for the general public.
RIF is also associated with the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors (ABEC) https://www.abecbrasil.org.br/, with its editorial team following and participating in courses and discussions on editorial topics.
Ethical Aspects in the Editorial Process
The editorial process demands responsibilities, good practices, and conduct at all stages and by all involved parties.
Authors:
The content of the manuscript is the sole responsibility of its authors. Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of the Forestry Institute must be original and unpublished, and they cannot be simultaneously submitted for publication in another journal. They must comply with the Instructions for Authors. If the work involved the collection of materials, the authors must have the necessary licenses and authorizations and ensure their deposit in institutions, respecting municipal, state, and federal regulations and legislation. All authors must have contributed to the preparation of the manuscript and must agree with its publication. Plagiarism, falsification of data, manipulation of citations, and false authorship are not allowed. Authors must credit illustrations and graphs from other sources or provide authorization for use when applicable. If there are potential conflicts of interest, the authors must disclose them. If any of the authors received funding, this must be cited, and it should also be stated if the work is part of a dissertation or thesis from a postgraduate program.
Reviewers:
Reviewers are requested to provide an objective and clear review of the manuscript and to offer a basis for the editorial decision. It is important for reviewers to contribute to improving the quality of the manuscript with suggestions and adjustments as needed. It is also important for them to inform the journal's editors if they notice that the manuscript's content has been previously published or contains plagiarism. Reviewers must maintain confidentiality regarding the manuscript during the editorial process and report any potential conflicts of interest if they exist.
Editors:
There is a constant effort to improve the Journal, implementing the editorial policy, and assisting both authors and reviewers in the publication process. The editorial process is conducted confidentially, preserving the anonymity of authors and reviewers. Editors are granted autonomy to reject or accept an article based on the reviewers' opinions who analyze the manuscript. Editors are asked to verify, together with the reviewers, the originality of the manuscript's content, any potential situations of plagiarism, falsification of data, manipulation of citations, and false authorship. In cases of ethical complaints or conflicts of interest, appropriate procedures should be adopted to investigate and ascertain their veracity, and when errors are detected, corrections or other necessary measures should be published.
