Journal profile · Environmental Science-Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Journal of Land Use Science
ISSN 1747-423X · eISSN 1747-4248 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · United Kingdom
Journal of Land Use Science: CAS Zone 3 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.43; JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,195; median 294 days to acceptance (38 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 10% (journal website); 18 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Land Use Science is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. and is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Land Use and Ecosystem Services, Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management and Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development, together about 53.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Land Use Science provides a central outlet for high-quality articles on theoretical and empirical aspects of land-use science at the interface of social and environmental systems. The Journal brings together an array of research perspectives at multiple temporal, spatial and social scales that contribute a better understanding of land-system dynamics and communicate scientific advances towards attaining land-system sustainability. Readership This journal has a critical role to play for the land-use community. Contributions range from conceptual and theoretical interventions to policy-related analyses, and from empirical case studies to cross-site comparisons, continental and global analyses. All manuscripts should be of interest to a broad readership beyond a specific case-study location. The Journal of Land Use Science features scholarship stemming from geography, economics, sociology, forestry, environmental sciences and other disciplines that have 'land' as a central theme in the study of coupled human–natural systems. We affirm our commitment to retaining the niche of the Journal of Land Use Science as the best outlet for interdisciplinary research on land-use systems. For a more-detailed account of the issues to be addressed by the Journal of Land Use Science see: Müller, D. & D.K. Munroe (2014). Current and future challenges in land-use science. Journal of Land Use Science, 9(2): 133-142. Peer Review Statement Journal of Land Use Science is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research contributions to scientific knowledge. All manuscript submissions are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors and by selected Editorial Board members. If found suitable for further consideration, a manuscript is subject to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne. *Please note that Journal of Land Use Science converted to a full Open Access journal from Volume 18 (2022). Archive content published between 1997-2021 is free to access. From 2022 the Print ISSN is not in active use as this journal is no longer published in print.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Science-Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Editor-in-chief Zhanli SunPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 17%); most named United States 8, Mainland China 5, Germany 5, India 2, Australia 2 (29 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science28.6%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science19.4%
- Agriculture, Land Use, Rural DevelopmentAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.8%
- Land Rights and ReformsAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
- Economic and Environmental ValuationEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.3%
- Remote Sensing in AgricultureEnvironmental Science4.1%
- Forest Management and PolicyEnvironmental Science3.9%
- Rangeland Management and Livestock EcologyEnvironmental Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Agriculture, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agriculture, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
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 | Agriculture, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 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
CAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: Geobase
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
- 3.43LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.93LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.93Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.15LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.15Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 58OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 338OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.7OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 14LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 214,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 517 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20 | 20 | 8 |
| 2025 | 18 | 18 | 46 |
| 2024 | 18 | 18 | 153 |
| 2023 | 22 | 22 | 228 |
| 2022 | 32 | 32 | 547 |
| 2021 | 29 | 21 | 570 |
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
294 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 207 days – 372 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 11 days (38 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 306 days
- Sample
- 38 articles with submission and acceptance dates (38 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 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 109 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 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 2,195 / GBP 1,756 / EUR 2,110 / AUD 3,060 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Full open access journal from Volume 18 (2022). Model summary
Journal of Land Use Science 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 t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Statement
Double anonymized peer review; online submission via ScholarOne. Model summary
Journal of Land Use Science is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research contributions to scientific knowledge. All manuscript submissions are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors and by selected Editorial Board members. If found suitable for further consideration, a manuscript is subject to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. All peer revie…
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 Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1747-423X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1747-4248
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 21, Issue 1 (2026)
- 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 Journal of Land Use Science
What CAS zone is Journal of Land Use Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Land Use Science is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Agriculture, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 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 Land Use Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.43; CiteScore 7.3, h-index 58.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Land Use Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 38 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 294 days (interquartile range 207–372 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10%. 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 Journal of Land Use Science in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Land Use Science based?
Of the 29 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 17%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (8), Mainland China (5) and Germany (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Land Use Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Land Use Science is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Land Use Science open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Land Use Science is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,195.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, DOAJ, 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: .