Journal profile · PLANT SCIENCES
AoB Plants
ISSN 2041-2851 · Oxford University Press · ENGLAND
AoB Plants: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.1; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 172 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); 73 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
AoB Plants is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plant and animal studies, Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies and Plant Parasitism and Resistance, together about 38.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
AoBP (AoB PLANTS) is a non-profit, sound science, open access journal for plant-focused research. Published by Oxford University Press since 2010, AoBP is dedicated to rapid publication of high quality research on all aspects of plant biology and ecology. All papers are available online to anyone, anywhere, free of charge. Sound-science Ethos and Mission The mission of AoBP is to provide an outlet for plant-focused research without the biases that affect much of scientific publishing. These biases include the devaluing of confirmatory or negative results and prejudices against authors based on their personal characteristics (such as gender, ethnicity, affiliation, seniority and reputation). Thus, we base decisions to accept or reject papers solely on rigor, clarity and substance, and we use double-blind peer review, concealing the identities of authors and reviewers during the review process. We prefer to leave judgments about the wider importance of papers to the scientific community. Convenient, Fast and Economical AoBP is committed to simple and rapid processing of manuscripts and online publication of accepted works. Authors can submit their work as a single-PDF with few formatting requirements, and we accept reviews cascaded from any other journal, including our sister journal, Annals of Botany. We strive to provide initial decisions within 30–40 days of submission. Join our Author Community Visit the below pages to learn more about publishing with us: Why Publish with AoBP? Call for Papers Author Guidelines Disclaimer Statements of fact and opinion in the articles in AoB PLANTS are those of the respective authors and contributors and not of the Journal, Annals of Botany Company, or Oxford University Press, unless otherwise expressly indicated. Neither Oxford University Press, Annals of Botany Company, nor the Journal make any representation, express or implied, in respect of the accuracy of the material in the Journal and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Readers should make their own evaluation as to the appropriateness or otherwise of the information included.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PLANT SCIENCES
Editor-in-chief F. XavierPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 9%); most named United States 21, Mainland China 5, Spain 5, Australia 4, United Kingdom 3 (55 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences16.6%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science14%
- Plant Parasitism and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.6%
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsEnvironmental Science6.7%
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.6%
- Plant responses to water stressAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.9%
- Genetic diversity and population structureBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Plant Molecular Biology ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 3.1LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.78LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.95LetPub ·
- h-index
- 27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 804OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.97OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 80LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,236 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 49 | 49 | 12 |
| 2025 | 73 | 73 | 153 |
| 2024 | 69 | 69 | 403 |
| 2023 | 87 | 87 | 896 |
| 2022 | 64 | 64 | 763 |
| 2021 | 79 | 79 | 1,842 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
172 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 131 days – 222 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (98 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 195 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (134 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 1,014 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 1,065 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,014 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 1,118 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- USD 3,625
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted6
- datasetsDatasets. Novel or newly compiled datasets of substantial value to the plant science research community, with a detailed Methods section describing how the data…Length not stated
- dialoguesDialogues. Structured discussions between two "teams" (consisting of individuals or groups) with contrasting opinions on a topical issue in plant science.Length not stated
- reviewAoB PLANTS is committed to evaluating submitted manuscripts in a fair and transparent fashion and believes that the personal characteristics of authors should n…Length not stated
- studiesStudies. Traditional research articles describing any substantive contribution to knowledge and understanding in plant science. Up to 6000 words (Introduction t…Length not stated
- toolsTools. Descriptions of novel tools of substantial value to the plant science community, including new experimental or analytical methods or tools, and mathemati…Length not stated
- viewpointsViewpoints. Letters presenting an opinion about a topical issue in plant science. Up to 3000 words (excluding References). Viewpoints should emphasize ideas and…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Use of Artificial Intelligence
AI tools cannot be authors; AI use must be disclosed in cover letters and in Methods or Acknowledgements. Model summary
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access charge
Book review charge 3625 USD Society membership discount 20% Total 0 USD Charges are quoted based on the information provided. The Low and Middle Income Countries discount is applied prior to any other discount. Please note that these prices are subject to change. All stated charges are exclusive of any applicable value added tax, goods and services tax and any similar sales or excise taxes (Sales …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymised peer review; authors must redact identifying information from the manuscript. Model summary
Authors should redact identifying information from the main manuscript file (e.g., author names and affiliations, names of institutions at which experiments were carried out, funding, author contributions and acknowledgments) to enable double-anonymised peer review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy
Preprints allowed; authors retain the right to post preprints, which does not prevent submission. Model summary
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiv…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2041-2851
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 18, Issue 5 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about AoB Plants
What CAS zone is AoB Plants in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, AoB Plants is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Plant Sciences / Ecology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of AoB Plants?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.1; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 83.
How long does peer review take at AoB Plants?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 172 days (interquartile range 131–222 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of AoB Plants?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of AoB Plants based?
Of the 55 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 9%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (21), Mainland China (5) and Spain (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index AoB Plants?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, AoB Plants is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is AoB Plants open access, and what is the APC?
AoB Plants is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .