Journal profile · Limnology
Journal of Freshwater Ecology
ISSN 0270-5060 · eISSN 2156-6941 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · UNITED STATES · Semiannual · Founded 1981
Journal of Freshwater Ecology: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.31; fully open access; APC about USD 1,680; median 68 days to acceptance (92 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 49 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Freshwater Ecology is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. 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 Fish Ecology and Management Studies, Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior and Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology, together about 44% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Freshwater Ecology is a fully open access journal for aquatic ecology of freshwater systems aimed at international researchers and professionals. The journal aims is to reflect the wide diversity of ecological subdisciplines and topics. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: Physiological Population Community Ecosystem ecology Biogeochemistry Ecohydrology of all types of freshwater systems including lentic, lotic, hyporheic and wetland systems Studies that improve our understanding of anthropogenic impacts and changes to freshwater systems are also appropriate. Manuscripts may take the form of original research, brief notes of significance, letters to the editor, or occasional invited review articles. All articles are freely and permanently available online through gold open access publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Limnology
Editor-in-chief Jeffrey A. SimmonsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 2, United Kingdom 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science22.5%
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and BehaviorEnvironmental Science11.6%
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecologyEnvironmental Science9.9%
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton DynamicsEnvironmental Science9.7%
- Fish Biology and Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.4%
- Hydrology and Sediment Transport ProcessesEnvironmental Science3.7%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science3.6%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences3.4%
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 | Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Limnology | 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 | Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Limnology | Zone 3 |
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 | Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Limnology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
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
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, CABI, GoOA, NHM University of Bremen
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
- 1.31LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.43LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.43Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.48LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.48Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 55OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,100OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.73OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 218,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,659 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 42 | 42 | 18 |
| 2025 | 49 | 49 | 96 |
| 2024 | 44 | 44 | 119 |
| 2023 | 43 | 43 | 227 |
| 2022 | 39 | 39 | 281 |
| 2021 | 19 | 19 | 163 |
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
68 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 55 days – 83 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (92 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 86 days
- Sample
- 92 articles with submission and acceptance dates (92 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)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 60%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 1,615 / USD 1,680 / GBP 1,344 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 1,000 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 1,615 / USD 1,680 / GBP 1,344 | 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)
Article types accepted5
- brief notesManuscripts may take the form of original research, brief notes of significance, letters to the editor, or occasional invited review articles.Length not stated
- brief notes of significanceManuscripts may take the form of original research, brief notes of significance, letters to the editor, or occasional invited review articles.Length not stated
- invited review articlesManuscripts may take the form of original research, brief notes of significance, letters to the editor, or occasional invited review articles.Length not stated
- letters to the editorManuscripts may take the form of original research, brief notes of significance, letters to the editor, or occasional invited review articles.Length not stated
- original researchManuscripts may take the form of original research, brief notes of significance, letters to the editor, or occasional invited review articles.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Open access journal; only publishes open access articles. Model summary
Journal of Freshwater Ecology is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership of your article Make an impact and reach new readers, not just…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Rigorous peer review for every open access article. Model summary
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
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
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- Founded
- 1981
- ISSN
- 0270-5060
- Electronic ISSN
- 2156-6941
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 41, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Freshwater Ecology
What CAS zone is Journal of Freshwater Ecology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Freshwater Ecology is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Ecology / Limnology. 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 Freshwater Ecology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.31; CiteScore 2.5, h-index 55.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Freshwater Ecology?
Based on the dates recorded on 92 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 68 days (interquartile range 55–83 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 60%. 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 Journal of Freshwater Ecology based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Freshwater Ecology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Freshwater Ecology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Freshwater Ecology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Freshwater Ecology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,680.
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: .