Journal profile · Plant Sciences
Bothalia
ISSN 0006-8241 · eISSN 2311-9284 · AOSIS (Pty) Ltd · SOUTH AFRICA · Semiannual
Bothalia: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.05; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 14 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Bothalia is published by AOSIS (Pty) Ltd 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 Plant Diversity and Evolution, Botany and Plant Ecology Studies and Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies, together about 36.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
African Biodiversity & Conservation publishes scientifically robust peer-reviewed studies on African biodiversity and conservation in a manner that is free, accessible and ethical, and that maintains high quality standards throughout. The journal publishes original research articles, reviews, data descriptors, nomenclatural changes, new distribution records, short communications, and commentaries. ABC also publishes special issues emanating from symposia or conferences or on a particular topic within the scope of the journal. ABC is a platinum open access journal. This mean that there are no author page charges and content is free to view. ABC is included in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), listed on all major indices including SciELO SA, and thereby accredited with the South African DHET. ABC is published by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Journal Impact FactorTM from ClarivateTM 2025 (under Bothalia) = 1.0 Journal Impact FactorTM from ClarivateTM 2025 (under ABC) = NA Note: The journal formally changed its name from Bothalia to African Biodiversity & Conservation in 2025. The listing of the journal on Clarivate's Web of Science is under the new name: African Biodiversity & Conservation, but articles prior to 2025 are listed as published in Bothalia. By July 2028 the impact factor for the journal should be solely under the new name.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Editor-in-chief Anthony R. MageePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 36, United States 1, Netherlands 1, Nigeria 1, Kenya 1 (40 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant Diversity and EvolutionAgricultural and Biological Sciences16.2%
- Botany and Plant Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences10.9%
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences9.3%
- African Botany and Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.3%
- Plant Taxonomy and PhylogeneticsAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.1%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science6%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
- Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.4%
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
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
- 1.05LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.17LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.42LetPub ·
- h-index
- 15LetPub ·
- h-index
- 49OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 393OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.91OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,219 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 24 | 24 | 18 |
| 2025 | 14 | 14 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 | 17 |
| 2023 | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 2022 | 14 | 14 | 27 |
| 2021 | 27 | 27 | 184 |
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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
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
- AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
- Country or region
- SOUTH AFRICA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- ISSN
- 0006-8241
- Electronic ISSN
- 2311-9284
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 56, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Bothalia
What CAS zone is Bothalia in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Bothalia 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 Bothalia?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.05; CiteScore 1.4, h-index 49.
How long does peer review take at Bothalia?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Bothalia based?
Of the 40 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (36), United States (1) and Netherlands (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Bothalia?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Bothalia is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Bothalia open access, and what is the APC?
Bothalia is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .