Journal profile · PLANT SCIENCES-ECOLOGY
Journal of Plant Ecology
ISSN 1752-9921 · eISSN 1752-993X · Oxford University Press · PEOPLES R CHINA
Journal of Plant Ecology: CAS Zone 1 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.41; fully open access; APC about USD 2,190; review about 3 months (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 230 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Plant Ecology is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Plant and animal studies and Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics, together about 42.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Editor-in-Chief Yuanhe Yang (Institute of Botany, CAS, China) Bernhard Schmid (University of Zürich, Switzerland) Journal of Plant Ecology (JPE) is a bi-monthly, peer-reviewed journal of plant ecology. As of January 1, 2022 JPE is fully Open Access and serves as an important medium for ecologists to present research findings and discuss challenging issues in the broad field of plants and their interactions with biotic and abiotic environment. Original research articles, reviews and short communications published in JPE cover all aspects of plant ecology, including biodiversity, community and population ecology, plant and ecosystem function, plant-animal and plant-microbe interactions, global change and biogeochemical cycles, plant invasion, soil and root ecology, as well as theoretical ecology, ecology and remote sensing, macroecology, evolutionary and reproductive ecology. JPE is sponsored by the Botanical Society of China and Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , PRC and published by Oxford University Press, UK. This journal was founded in 2007 on the strength of a successful Chinese predecessor, also called Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology. The Chinese journal will continue, wholly in Chinese, as Journal of Plant Ecology (Chinese version) From 1 January 2022, JPE will become a fully open access (OA) journal. Archive material prior to this date is free. All rights are reserved to archive material. All papers submitted after 1st July 2021 will be charged OA fee once accepted. For more information please visit our Author Guidelines. Journal metrics Citation metrics Clarivate 2025 Impact Factor 4.5 2025 5 Year Impact Factor 4.1 Forestry (Rank by Impact Factor) 8/92 Plant Sciences (Rank by Impact Factor) 50/285 Ecology (Rank by Impact Factor) 37/205 2025 Article Influence Score 0.804 Scopus 2025 CiteScore 6.3 Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics (Rank by CiteScore) 83/736 Ecology (Rank by CiteScore) 73/491 Plant Science (Rank by CiteScore) 84/541 Readership 2025 Full Text Usage 369,223 About metrics Abstracting and indexing services Journal of Plant Ecology is covered by the following indexing service: CAB Abstracts Crop Physiology Abstracts DOAJ EBSCO Field Crop Abstracts Forest Products Abstracts Forestry Abstracts Global Health Grasslands & Forage Abstracts Horticultural Abstracts Plant Breeding Abstracts Plant Growth Regulators ProQuest Science Citation Index® Scopus Weed Abstracts Wheat, Barley and Triticale Abstracts World Agricult
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PLANT SCIENCES-ECOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Yuanhe YangPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 89 in mainland China (about 71%); most named Mainland China 89, United States 13, Spain 6, Switzerland 5, Germany 3 (125 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science21.9%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences10.6%
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsEnvironmental Science9.6%
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.4%
- Plant Parasitism and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.3%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science3.9%
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant InteractionsAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.6%
- Forest ecology and managementEnvironmental Science3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Forestry | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Forestry | Zone 1 |
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 | Forestry | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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
- 4.41LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.26LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 72OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 842OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.53OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 140LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 369,223Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,945 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 238 | 238 | 37 |
| 2025 | 230 | 230 | 604 |
| 2024 | 116 | 116 | 837 |
| 2023 | 45 | 45 | 787 |
| 2022 | 110 | 110 | 1,813 |
| 2021 | 119 | 92 | 1,800 |
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 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 18 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 | USD 2,190 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,190 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,625 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Discounts
- No discounts
- Other fees
- USD 3,625
- Page charges
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 5–7
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted14
- commentaryJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- commentary papersCommentary papers are comments on one or a few newly published articles.Length not stated
- data paperJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- data papersData Papers present large or expansive data sets, accompanied by metadata which describe the content, context, quality and structure of the data.Length not stated
- opinionJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- original researchJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- perspectiveJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- perspectivesPerspectives are short articles, providing synthetic overview, critical commentary, or historical perspective, primarily by eminent ecologists.Length not stated
- research articleJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- research articlesResearch Articles present original research findings and discuss challenging issues in the broad field of plants and their interactions with biotic and abiotic …Length not stated
- reviewJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews should present timely syntheses of topical themes in a selected area of plant ecology and provide innovative ideas to inspire future research.Length not stated
- short communicationJPE welcomes seven main types of manuscripts that are subjected to online peer review: Research Articles present original research findings and discuss challeng…Length not stated
- short communicationsShort Communications are shorter, peer-reviewed research articles, presenting new ideas, controversial opinions, “negative” results, or a new theory or concept …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Self-archiving
- AI use Use of AI
AI use must be disclosed; AI cannot be an author Model summary
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship CRediT
JPE uses the contributor roles taxonomy (CRediT), which allows authors to describe the contributor roles in a standardized, transparent, and accurate way. Authors should choose from the contributor roles outlined on the CRediT website and supply this information upon submission. You may choose multiple contributor roles per author. Any other individuals who do not meet authorship criteria and made…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of interest
Journal policy also requires that all authors sign a conflict of interest statement. If the manuscript is published, such information may be communicated in a note following the text and reference. At initial submission, the corresponding author must declare if the Editor-in-Chief, an editor, or an Editorial Board Member of the Journal is an author of or contributor to the manuscript. Another edit…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of Data and Materials
The journal is committed to Open Science and the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. The journal requires authors to deposit all data and code required to reproduce the results presented in a manuscript in a public repository as a condition of publication. Authors are encouraged to use the ScienceDB repository for deposition. The Data Availability Statement must in…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Charges
Journal of Plant Ecology is a fully open access (OA) journal, all papers will be charged OA fee once accepted, for both CC BY and CC BY-NC licences. Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY) Creative Commons Non-Commercial licence (CC BY-NC) Please see here for more information about the Creative Commons licences. Journal (required) Please select Academic MedicineActa CytologicaActa Haematologi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Policy
Double-anonymous review process beginning 1 August 2025 Model summary
Journal of Plant Ecology is introducing a double-anonymous review process beginning on 1 August 2025. To facilitate a double-anonymised peer review process, manuscript files should contain no identifying author information. A separate title page should contain authors, affiliations, brief acknowledgements (if needed) and an address and email for correspondence. This separate title page document sh…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
Manuscripts submitted may be screened with iThenticate anti-plagiarism software in an attempt to detect and prevent plagiarism. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose part or all of the text has been previously published. Prior to final acceptance any manuscript that has not already been screened may be put through iThenticate. Please see more information about iT…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiv…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Author self-archiving/public access policy
For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
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
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- PEOPLES R CHINA
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1752-9921
- Electronic ISSN
- 1752-993X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- 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 Plant Ecology
What CAS zone is Journal of Plant Ecology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Plant Ecology is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Ecology / Forestry / Plant Sciences; it is a Top journal. 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 Plant Ecology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.41; CiteScore 6.3, h-index 72.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Plant Ecology?
Authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Plant Ecology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 5–7; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional. 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 Journal of Plant Ecology based?
Of the 125 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 89 (about 71%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (89), United States (13) and Spain (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Plant Ecology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Plant Ecology 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 Plant Ecology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Plant Ecology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-30). Last updated: .