We are honored to announce that Dr. Nicolae Talpă and Dr. Didzis Elferts have been selected as the winners of the Forests 2025 Outstanding Reviewer Award.

The following is an interview with Dr. Nicolae Talpă:

1. Could you give a brief introduction of yourself to the readers? Could you introduce your current research direction and provide an update on your progress?
I am Nicolae Talpă, a lecturer at Transilvania University of Brașov. My main fields are forest economics, forest policy, and forest law and legislation. My research focuses mainly on forest governance, forest policy, and sustainable forest management. Recently, I have been working on topics related to ecosystem services, forest policy frameworks, and the role of forests in the bioeconomy. I am also involved in several international research projects where we analyze how policies influence forest management and natural resource management.

2. Can you please share with us your sentiments about winning the award?
I was very honored and grateful to receive this award. Reviewing manuscripts is an important part of the scientific process, and I see it as a way to support the quality of research and the work of other scientists. This recognition is very motivating for me.

3. Could you share some insights into your approach to reviewing manuscripts? How do you balance thoroughness with efficiency?
When I review a manuscript, I first try to understand the main objective of the study and its contribution. I usually start with a general reading to see the overall structure and logic. After that, I look more carefully at the methodology, results, and interpretation.

4. What are the key factors and aspects that you consider most when reviewing a manuscript?
The most important aspects for me are the relevance of the research question, the clarity of the methodology, whether the conclusions are supported by the results, at the originality of the study, how well it is positioned in international literature, and its importance in moving forward the level of knowledge in the field.

5. Based on your experience, which research topics do you think are of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
In the coming years, I think that research related to forest resilience, climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, and the role of forests in the bioeconomy will be very important.

The following is an interview with Dr. Didzis Elferts:

1. Could you give a brief introduction of yourself to the readers? Could you introduce your current research direction and provide an update on your progress?
I am Didzis Elferts, senior researcher at the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava” (Latvia), as well as a professor in the field of biometry at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences. My research direction, in general, is connected to forest adaptation to ongoing climate change and the influence of climate on tree growth.

2. Can you please share with us your sentiments about winning the award?
Winning the award is recognition of the work I do as a reviewer and of the fact that my work has been done in the right way and meaningfully.

3. Could you share some insights into your approach to reviewing manuscripts? How do you balance thoroughness with efficiency? What are the key factors and aspects that you consider most when reviewing a manuscript?
First, I read the whole manuscript to get an overall impression of the research: whether it sounds good, how it is written, and whether it is easy to read. Then I start to go through each part of the manuscript. I especially look at the description of the methods, study design, and use of statistical methods, as this shows how reliable the results are and whether the research can be replicated. Also, the representation (tables and figures) is carefully checked. For me, even if the study’s results are not particularly significant, conducting the research properly is more important.