A quiet moment in 2003. A young Iranian Master of Science student sits at his desk at the University of Tehran, writing his first-ever journal article on forest engineering.

It’s tough to write, and even tougher to get published.

But that feeling of elation when the acceptance came... that stayed with him. Through 22 years. Through the publication of close to 80 journal articles and more than 150 total publications (reports, papers, conference articles). A feeling so wonderful that he decided he wanted others to experience it too.

That student is now Dr Mohammad-Reza Ghaffariyan, a leading scientist globally, Research Fellow at the UniSC Forest Research Institute (FRI), Sessional Lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). And now, he's the Managing Editor of the Australian Forestry journal, published by Taylor & Francis Group for Forestry Australia.

Australian Forestry is a long-standing journal dedicated to high-quality scientific, technical and professional communication on forestry issues that matter in Australia and the Indo-Pacific.

As Managing Editor, Mohammad says his main enjoyment is "contributing to the scientific knowledge sharing, where every paper is written with passion and love to have an impact on our world to become a better place.”

"The role as Managing Editor of Australian Forestry Journal provides me a great platform to make such an impact," he says. "It is my pleasure to be part of such a great team at Forestry Australia, the FRI and UniSC, and to help others experience the same feeling I did with my very first publication."

Since his very first journal article, Mohammad has also served as a reviewer and panel editor for several international journals in Forestry and Natural Resources — something he considers his professional responsibility.

He says the journal welcomes “quality submissions relevant to the scope of AFJ.”