Journal profile · ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Environments
ISSN 2076-3298 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) · Switzerland
Environments: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.3 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,172; review about 6 weeks (community reports); 507 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Environments is published by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) and is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Heavy metals in environment, Air Quality and Health Impacts and Microplastics and Plastic Pollution, together about 26.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Environments (ISSN 2076-3298) is an international, cross-disciplinary, open access journal focusing on advances, issues and challenges related to environmental systems. Our aim is to provide an open space for scientists and engineers to publish and discuss their experimental, theoretical, and novel practical results in a variety of areas, with particular focus on shared responsibility and sustainable approaches to resource use and ecosystem management. Key research areas include environmental conservation; environmental technologies; ecosystems and ecosystem services; risk assessment; monitoring and modeling of environmental systems; policymaking and governance for stakeholder engagement and decision support. The biosphere, as the shared habitat of all species, including humans, requires a full understanding and appropriate environmental policymaking to ensure safe interactions, prevent biodiversity loss, and promote long-term sustainability. There is no restriction on the maximum length in words of submissions. The full experimental details must be provided with the basic QA so that the results can be reproduced. For details on the calculation or experimental procedure that cannot be fully described in the main manuscript (Word/LaTeX format), electronic files and software can be deposited as supplementary electronic material.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Editor-in-chief Chemistry Research UnitPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 13%); most named Italy 10, Mainland China 4, Canada 4, United States 3, Taiwan, China 2 (32 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Heavy metals in environmentEnvironmental Science9.3%
- Air Quality and Health ImpactsEnvironmental Science8.9%
- Microplastics and Plastic PollutionEnvironmental Science8.6%
- Recycling and Waste Management TechniquesEnvironmental Science6.2%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Air Quality Monitoring and ForecastingEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Atmospheric chemistry and aerosolsEarth and Planetary Sciences4%
- Toxic Organic Pollutants ImpactEnvironmental Science4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · Environmental Sciences
- CiteScore Q1 · Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceGeoRefPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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 (publisher) 2025
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.93LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.05LetPub ·
- h-index
- 74OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 790OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.95OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 505LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,015Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,422 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 523 | 523 | 332 |
| 2025 | 507 | 507 | 2,177 |
| 2024 | 303 | 303 | 2,754 |
| 2023 | 220 | 220 | 3,747 |
| 2022 | 160 | 160 | 3,219 |
| 2021 | 144 | 144 | 3,688 |
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 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 18.6 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3.5 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,800 | — | — | |
| LetPub | CHF 1,800 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted18
- book reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- brief communicationAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- brief reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- case reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- commentaryAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- conference reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- editorialAll peer-reviewed articles published by MDPI are assessed by our independent Academic Editors, and MDPI staff are not involved in any editorial decisions regard…Length not stated
- hypothesisAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- letterAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- opinionAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- perspectiveAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- protocolAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- registered reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- systematic reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- technical noteAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- tutorialAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- viewpointAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
MDPI follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines which state that, in order to qualify for authorship of a manuscript, the following criteria should be observed: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; Draft the work or review it critically for important intel…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest
According to The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, “Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors’ access to all of the study’s data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose.” All authors mus…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data availability statements are required for all articles published with MDPI. During the peer review and editorial decision process, authors can be asked to share existing datasets or raw data that have been analyzed in the manuscript, and whether they will be made available to other researchers following publication. Authors will also be asked for the details of any existing datasets that have …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics Statement
Environments is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We fully adhere to its Code of Conduct and to its Best Practice Guidelines. The editors of this journal enforce a rigorous peer review process together with strict ethical policies and standards to ensure to add high quality scientific works to the field of scholarly publication. Unfortunately, cases of plagiarism, data falsif…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright / Open Access
Articles published in Environments will be Open-Access articles distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The copyright is retained by the author(s). MDPI will insert the following note at the end of the published text: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publication fees
If you transfer your manuscript to another open access (OA) journal, you will be charged an Article Processing Charge (APC) if your article is accepted for publication. The APC for each journal can be found on the individual journal’s website. For more information about APCs, please see here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Editorial Process and Peer Review
All submissions are thoroughly peer-reviewed by experts within the field and undergo a structured editorial workflow designed to ensure quality, transparency, and scientific integrity. The full editorial procedure is available on the Editorial Process page and is also provided below. Pre-check Pre-check consists of a technical pre-check performed by the Editorial Office and an editorial pre-check …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints and Conference Papers
Environments accepts submissions that have previously been made available as preprints provided that they have not undergone peer review. A preprint is a draft version of a paper made available online before submission to a journal. MDPI operates Preprints, a preprint server to which submitted papers can be uploaded directly after completing journal submission. Note that Preprints operates indepen…
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
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2076-3298
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 13 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Environments
What CAS zone is Environments in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Environments is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Environmental Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Environments?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 4.3 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.7, h-index 74.
How long does peer review take at Environments?
Authors report an average review time of about 6 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 JCR quartile is Environments in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2; by category, Environmental Sciences Q2. JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology.
What are the manuscript requirements of Environments?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3; 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 Environments based?
Of the 32 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (10), Mainland China (4) and Canada (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Environments?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Environments is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and GeoRef; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Environments open access, and what is the APC?
Environments is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,172.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .