Journal profile · Plant Sciences
American Fern Journal
ISSN 0002-8444 · American Fern Society · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1910
American Fern Journal: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.43; subscription journal; review about 6 months (community reports); community-reported acceptance: about 25%; 29 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
American Fern Journal is published by American Fern Society and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Fern and Epiphyte Biology, Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies and Plant and animal studies, together about 49.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The American Fern Journal (AFJ) publishes original research on ferns and other seed-free vascular plants (e.g., horsetails, lycopsids). Although the organism must be the centerpiece of all acceptable manuscripts, novel research results may be obtained through a range of methods and emphases (e.g., anatomy, conservation, development, diversity, ecology, ethnobotany, evolution, genetics, paleontology, phylogeny, physiology, systematics).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Fern and Epiphyte BiologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences26.1%
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences11.9%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences11.5%
- Botany and Plant Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences9.2%
- Plant Diversity and EvolutionAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.7%
- Lichen and fungal ecologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.2%
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal DiseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Bryophyte Studies and RecordsAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 0.43LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 0.86Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.49LetPub ·
- h-index
- 25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 58OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 557OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.38OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 17LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,528 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025 | 29 | 0 | 8 |
| 2024 | 31 | 2 | 21 |
| 2023 | 24 | 0 | 23 |
| 2022 | 28 | 1 | 86 |
| 2021 | 31 | 1 | 69 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 25%LetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- American Fern Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1910
- ISSN
- 0002-8444
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about American Fern Journal
What CAS zone is American Fern Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, American Fern Journal is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of American Fern Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.43; CiteScore 1.5, h-index 58.
How long does peer review take at American Fern Journal?
Authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 25%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index American Fern Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, American Fern Journal is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is American Fern Journal open access, and what is the APC?
American Fern Journal is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .