Scottish Forestry
Scottish Forestry
Scottish Forestry is the journal of the Royal Scottish Forestry Society and is a key part of the society's mission to foster understanding of and passion for Scotland's forestry, woodland and trees by disseminating forest management knowledge and forest science. Published three times a year in print and digitally, it has been published continuously under various titles since 1858, taking its current name in 1947. The journal's entire digitised archive is available to RSFS members online, forming an invaluable resource for forest researchers.
Latest edition
Our Spring 2026 issue features region reports, book reviews, a look at past and present Swedish forestry, a defence of rewilding and a dip into the archives to look at SF Volume 1 No 1. We have a fascinating interview with the late James Hepburne Scott on how the Woodland Carbon Code came into being; the Native Pinewood Managers return to Mar Lodge to review progress; proposals are put for a robust framework for seed sourcing for mountain woodland restoration, and we publish detailed scenario planning for our national forests one hundred years into the future.
Buy a single copy
If you are not a member and would like to purchase single copies of the journal, you can do so in our shop.
Journal archive
Members are able to access our Scottish Forestry archive, going all the way back to 1858.
Featured articles
Our featured articles are open to all. Here you will find our highlighted articles, reports on our RSFS activities, and writing award winners.
Potential advertisers
Scottish Forestry's readership includes professional foresters at all levels across the commercial, public and third sectors; land managers and land owners; conservation professionals and major conservation bodies; policy makers and civil servants; forest and environmental scientists, academics and students, as well as lay people who love forests, woodlands and trees. Advertising in the journal, which is published three times each year, is a valuable way for your business to be seen by this specialist and highly-networked audience.
There are opportunities for advertising in Scottish Forestry, including full, half, quarter and eighth page adverts, advertorials, and inside front and back cover adverts.
Advertising in the journal is handled by Contact Publicity. Please email Stewart Horn at stewart@contactpublicity.co.uk or call 0141 204 2042 to discuss rates and deadlines.
Writing awards
The society awards two trophies each year for the best writing published in Scottish Forestry in the previous calendar year. Papers are eligible if at least one author is an RSFS member or is an employee of an RSFS Corporate Member.
The Sir George Campbell Memorial Trophy recognises detailed technical, scientific or research papers, case histories, reports and reviews. They may have a scholarly structure, e.g. abstract, introduction/background, methods, results/finding, discussion/analysis, recommendations/conclusions, but this is not essential in all cases.
The Neil Findlay Memorial Trophy recognises articles that offer perspectives on trees, woodland and the environment – and people’s involvement with them – beyond the technical details of forestry. They may deal with subjects with wider appeal than conventional forest and woodland management and research, and may be shorter, lighter or discursive, including opinion pieces.
An independent judging panel decides each award, and the winning authors are presented with their trophies at the society's Annual Dinner during the Annual Study Tour.
Submissions
Contributors to the journal are encouraged to discuss article proposals with the Editor at an early stage - email editor@rsfs.org.uk with your proposal and to request our author guidance documents.
About the editor
Gavin McGregor has been Editor of Scottish Forestry since the Winter 2020 edition, and produces the RSFS's fortnightly email news digest, The Kernel, as well as designing each edition of the journal since Spring 2021. Gavin has been a journalist and later an editor for more than 25 years, and has also worked in conservation land management, in local government, for an environmental education charity and in small-scale agriculture. He can be contacted at editor@rsfs.org.uk.