The publication of the first issue of the ALLGEMEINE FORST- und JAGDZEITUNG in 1832 by J.D. Sauerländer’s established forestry as an important scientific discipline with a widespead following. Previous publications within the environmental context had been rather descriptive and general, even romantic. Influenced by developments in the emerging natural sciences, the new editorial policy favoured rigorous reporting of scientific investigation. An important step at that time was the adoption of the “equality principle”, which implied that the scientific quality, not the age or status of the author, was the decisive factor for accepting a manuscript.