| The articles in the encyclopedia will range between 1,000 to 5,000 words. We will balance short, medium, and long essays, as well as disciplines, regions, and value perspectives of forests. The subjects of tropical to temperate forest in Latin America are likely to be of equal interest to all readers in the Americas, and a web-based encyclopedia should facilitate wider and cheaper distribution of the articles than a traditional book. Thus the encyclopedia will have a reasonable distribution of articles for each region. We will have some core, similar articles for all major regions—Canada, U.S.A., Central America, and South America. But we will avoid replicating the same technical subject titles in four different regions for the entire encyclopedia, so authors should try to write each technical entry broadly to cover the principles that might apply to all regions in the Americas to the extent possible. Subject categories identified are: countries and regions, forest biology and ecology, forest management, forest measurements and monitoring, forest ownership, tenure and social systems, forest policies and administration, forest products and manufacturing, contemporary issues, historical events, and leading figures.
Each author will receive credit for the entry. A title and a subject area/category are assigned, and a list of all entries will be available for reference. For the technical subjects, each author should write a summary of (1) the general definition of the entry; (2) the subjects and technical matters related to that title; (3) the principles of how this subject is used and applied in forests and forestry in the Americas; and (4) issues and developments in this technical field. A few titles may be similar (e.g., recreation), but should be differentiated by the focus on their subject area. (e.g., forest measurements vs. forest management).
For entries related to specific countries or regions, authors should (1) briefly summarize some data about the country; (2) discuss broad forest types; and (3) discuss current issues and trends in forest retention, management and protection. For historical events and people, a simple summary of their contribution to the discipline or to forest management should be adequate. For forestry issues, a balanced discussion of the implicit values and social forces causing such issues, the merits of different views, and prospects for future development seems reasonable. Entry authors do have considerable latitude, but these guidelines should provide a basis for first drafts that will meet the goals of the encyclopedia.
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