We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Lei Deng, a professor at the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Forest Soil” in Forests (ISSN: 1999-4907).

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Lei Deng, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. Can you please give a brief introduction of yourself to the readers?
I am mainly focused on the effects of vegetation restoration on soil carbon budgets. I have been conducting research in this field for 15 years. During this process, I established the evaluation method of the carbon sequestration benefit of China’s “Grain for Green” project and predicted the carbon sequestration potential of the project. At the same time, I explored the dynamic evolution process of soil carbon sequestration and its stabilization time following vegetation restoration and conducted research on the driving mechanism of soil carbon sequestration by plants, soil, and microorganisms. I have achieved a series of research results. At present, I have published more than 100 SCI-indexed papers in PNAS, Global Change Biology, Soil Biology & Biochemistry and other journals.

2. What attracted you to scientific editing for Forests?
Forestry research has been booming in recent years, especially in China, where the number, depth, and influence of innovative achievements are increasing. The Forests journal is a good carrier for solving important frontier problems in forestry research. I am delighted to have this opportunity to contribute to its development. I am full of hope and enthusiasm for its prospects and firmly believe that Forests can become an open-source archive of world-class academic achievements, a highly trusted source of innovative information and technology, and a new platform for academic exchange and knowledge dissemination in forests and related disciplines around the world.

3. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
Global climate change and human activities have always been important factors affecting the development of forest health, so in the next few years, I think the research in the field of forestry research will still be inseparable from these two aspects. Specifically, the impacts of land use change, forest management, climate change, N subsidence, and even various disasters and forest protection on forest structure and function will remain the focus of forestry research. In addition, the biological and abiotic driving mechanisms of these changes should be analyzed in detail.

4. What advice would you offer to a new editor of a journal?
I have three pieces of advice for new editors. First, adhere to lifelong learning and improve your knowledge reserve and skill level. Second, actively participate in academic exchanges and other social welfare activities to improve your comprehensive service capabilities and industry influence. Third is to undertake the due responsibilities of the Editorial Board, strictly regarding manuscripts, and put forward good suggestions for the development of the journal.

5. Forests is an open access journal. How do you think open access impacts authors?
Open access is conducive to the dissemination of papers and can result in more people seeing the papers published. I think it is a great business model.

We wish him every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.