Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Applied Geography
ISSN 0143-6228 · eISSN 1873-7730 · Elsevier
Applied Geography: CAS Zone 2 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 7.45; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,220; review about 151 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 310 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Applied Geography is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 2 of Earth Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Land Use and Ecosystem Services, Urban Transport and Accessibility and Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management, together about 34.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Putting the World's Human and Physical Resource Problems in a Geographical PerspectiveApplied Geography is a journal devoted to the publication of research which utilizes geographic approaches (human, physical, nature-society and GIScience) to resolve human problems that have a spatial dimension. These problems may be related to the assessment, management and allocation of the world's physical and/or human resources. The underlying rationale of the journal is that only through a clear understanding of the relevant societal, physical, and coupled natural-humans systems can we resolve such problems.Papers are invited on any theme involving the application of geographical theory and methodology in the resolution of human problems. This may include papers on the techniques, problems and results of environmental and/or social research, as well as those concerned with the principles, policies and consequences of resource management and allocation. Articles are refereed before publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief Jian PengPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 12 in mainland China (about 20%); most named United States 24, Mainland China 12, Canada 5, Hong Kong, China 4, United Kingdom 3 (61 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science18.3%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences10.5%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science6.1%
- Urban Green Space and HealthEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering4.5%
- Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementEnvironmental Science4.2%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Earth Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
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
- 7.45LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 172OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,881OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.02OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.39%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 281LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,587 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 249 | 90 | 197 |
| 2025 | 310 | 98 | 1,878 |
| 2024 | 241 | 82 | 3,539 |
| 2023 | 250 | 97 | 5,439 |
| 2022 | 154 | 56 | 3,377 |
| 2021 | 156 | 65 | 3,969 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
151 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 52 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 151 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,220 / EUR 3,010 / GBP 2,580 / JPY 399,380 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,360 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted10, with length limits
- brief communicationResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …Length not stated
- commentaryResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …main text ≤ 4,000 words
- commentary articleCommentary articles should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words in total, including ancillary materials such as abbreviations, declarations, tables and reference li…Length not stated
- hypothesisResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …Length not stated
- opinionResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …Length not stated
- research and review articlesResearch and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. Exceptions to this rule can be…Length not stated
- reviewResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …Length not stated
- review articleResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …main text ≤ 8,000 words
- standard research articleResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …Length not stated
- viewpointResearch and review articles: Research and review articles should be between 4,500-8,000 words. The word count is inclusive of captions, tables and references. …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
1 to 7 keywords required Model summary
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
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
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 0143-6228
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-7730
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Applied Geography
What CAS zone is Applied Geography in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Applied Geography is in Zone 2 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Geography; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Applied Geography?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 7.45; CiteScore 10, h-index 172.
How long does peer review take at Applied Geography?
The publisher reports about 151 days (submission to acceptance). 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 Applied Geography?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; Highlights: 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 Applied Geography based?
Of the 61 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 12 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (24), Mainland China (12) and Canada (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Applied Geography?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Applied Geography is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Applied Geography open access, and what is the APC?
Applied Geography is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,220.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .