Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Global Ecology and Conservation
ISSN 2351-9894 · Elsevier BV · Netherlands
Global Ecology and Conservation: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.62; fully open access; APC about USD 3,100; review about 138 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 642 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Global Ecology and Conservation is published by Elsevier BV and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies and Species Distribution and Climate Change, together about 42.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
From theory to practice, from molecules to ecosystems, from regional to globalGlobal Ecology and Conservation (GECCO) is an open access international scientific journal in the disciplines of ecology and conservation biology. The journal publishes articles spanning a diverse range of fields that contribute to ecology and conservation of terrestrial, marine or freshwater organisms and ecosystems. The primary aim of Global Ecology and Conservation is the publication of high-quality papers that advance the field of ecology and theory and practice of conservation. We welcome submissions from across the globe and we are particularly interested in articles from poorly represented regions, species and from authors from diverse origins. Population studies of species with Data Deficient (DD) are welcome.Global Ecology and Conservation also publishes thematic special issues that have a global relevance in terms of the topics, authors' diversity (including countries and gender) or issues addressed, and thus demonstrate applications of conservation biology and ecology.The journal will generally not consider manuscripts without a significant biological component (e.g., studies of pollution chemistry), and particular emphasis is placed on connecting the research to its ecological and/or conservation implications. Papers focused on species inventories, distribution modelling, animal behaviour, plant physiology, and purely technical and methodological papers will not be considered without a clear link to ecology or conservation. GECCO is not a venue of papers that deals with pure aspects of Toxicology or Environmental Science.Papers dealing with Agroecosystems, or Soil ecology will be considered in GECCO only if they have clearly defined implications for ecology and conservation of wild organisms or habitats.Papers that use Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) must provide hypotheses or directed ecological questions and should not simply explore current and/or future distributions of a species. The paper should demonstrate strong and appropriate knowledge of the species' ecology and all methods used to generate occurrence records should be fully explained. Papers submitted to GECCO must incorporate a clear element of novelty and should not merely present a well-documented phenomenon in a different geographic context. Authors are expected to demonstrate how their work advances our understanding of ecology or conservation in a meaningful and impactful manner.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Editor-in-chief Mauro GalettiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 8 in mainland China (about 21%); most named Mainland China 8, India 5, South Africa 5, United States 2, United Kingdom 2 (38 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science17.7%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science12.8%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science11.6%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.3%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science4.3%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science4%
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and ConservationEnvironmental Science3.7%
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
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 | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
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
- 3.62LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.03LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.24LetPub ·
- h-index
- 20LetPub ·
- h-index
- 104OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,092OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 628LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,445 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 391 | 391 | 81 |
| 2025 | 642 | 642 | 1,173 |
| 2024 | 598 | 598 | 3,433 |
| 2023 | 429 | 429 | 4,460 |
| 2022 | 362 | 362 | 5,980 |
| 2021 | 558 | 558 | 11,954 |
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
138 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 15 weeks
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 15 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 57 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 138 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single 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 | USD 3,100 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,980 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,390 / JPY 369,610 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,820 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,100 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteArticle types accepted9, with length limits
- conservation notesConservation notes are short articles (maximum of 2,000 words) that focus on an emerging conservation issue. Conservation Notes can be based on qualitative data…Length not stated
- meta-analysisWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…Length not stated
- original researchWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…Length not stated
- perspectiveWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…Length not stated
- research articleWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- reviewWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…main text ≤ 9,000 words
- short communicationWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- short communicationsShort communications are articles with a maximum of 3,000 words and that describe a concise empirical study, following the topic guidelines for a research artic…Length not stated
- systematic reviewWord counts exclude references, legends of figures and tables, and text within the tables.Research articles describe original research, can have up to 6,000 wor…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
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
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single 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 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. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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 BV
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2351-9894
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Global Ecology and Conservation
What CAS zone is Global Ecology and Conservation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Global Ecology and Conservation is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biodiversity Conservation / Ecology. 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 Global Ecology and Conservation?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.62; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 104.
How long does peer review take at Global Ecology and Conservation?
The publisher reports about 138 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 15 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Global Ecology and Conservation based?
Of the 38 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 8 (about 21%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (8), India (5) and South Africa (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Global Ecology and Conservation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Global Ecology and Conservation is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Global Ecology and Conservation open access, and what is the APC?
Global Ecology and Conservation is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,100.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, 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: .