Journal profile · Environmental Sciences
Journal of Environmental Quality
ISSN 0047-2425 · eISSN 1537-2537 · ASA/CSSA/SSSA · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1972
Journal of Environmental Quality: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.56; hybrid open access; APC about USD 1,910; median 164 days to acceptance (103 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 156 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Environmental Quality is published by ASA/CSSA/SSSA 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 Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics, Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics and Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies, together about 36.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Pollution. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
<em>Journal of Environmental Quality</em> covers anthropogenic impacts on environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems, including water, soil, and the atmosphere.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Sciences
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science20.5%
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.8%
- Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental StudiesEnvironmental Science6.9%
- Heavy metals in environmentEnvironmental Science6.6%
- Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesEnvironmental Science6.1%
- Soil erosion and sediment transportAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.5%
- Phosphorus and nutrient managementEnvironmental Science4.2%
- Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental ImpactsEnvironmental Science4.1%
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 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 2.56LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.74LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 150LetPub ·
- h-index
- 260OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,952OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.52OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 58.31%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 139LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 130Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 591,320Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 11,094 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 141 | 113 | 27 |
| 2025 | 156 | 113 | 297 |
| 2024 | 134 | 102 | 763 |
| 2023 | 92 | 64 | 1,075 |
| 2022 | 130 | 80 | 1,273 |
| 2021 | 130 | 65 | 1,962 |
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 Crossref · to
164 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 111 days – 213 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 33 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 197 days
- Sample
- 103 articles with submission and acceptance dates (317 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 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 25%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 25%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 171 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 34 daysPublisher 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 1,910 / EUR 1,740 / GBP 1,510 | — | — |
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- ASA/CSSA/SSSA
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1972
- ISSN
- 0047-2425
- Electronic ISSN
- 1537-2537
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Environmental Quality
What CAS zone is Journal of Environmental Quality in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Environmental Quality 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 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Environmental Quality?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.56; CiteScore 4.5, h-index 260.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Environmental Quality?
Based on the dates recorded on 103 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 164 days (interquartile range 111–213 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 50%”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 25% (2025). 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.
Which databases index Journal of Environmental Quality?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Environmental Quality is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Environmental Quality open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Environmental Quality is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 1,910.
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: .