Journal profile · Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Landscape Ecology
ISSN 0921-2973 · eISSN 1572-9761 · Springer Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · Bimonthly · Founded 1987
Landscape Ecology: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.72; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,390; median 170 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 254 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Landscape Ecology is published by Springer Netherlands 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 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Land Use and Ecosystem Services and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, together about 44.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change and Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Landscape Ecology, an open access publication, is the flagship journal of a well-established and rapidly developing interdisciplinary science that focuses explicitly on the ecological understanding of spatial heterogeneity. Landscape Ecology draws together expertise from both biophysical and socioeconomic sciences to explore basic and applied research questions concerning the ecology, conservation, management, design/planning, and sustainability of landscapes as coupled human-environment systems. Landscape ecology studies are characterized by spatially explicit methods in which spatial attributes and arrangements of landscape elements are directly analyzed and related to ecological processes. All manuscripts must show a keen awareness of the current literature and an immediate relevance to at least one of the following key topics: (1) Flows and redistributions of organisms, materials, and energy in landscape mosaics; (2) Landscape connectivity and fragmentation; (3) Ecosystem services in dynamic landscapes (especially, tradeoffs and synergies); (4) Landscape history and legacy effects; (5) Landscape and climate change interactions (particularly, mitigation and adaptation); (6) Landscape sustainability and resilience (e.g., relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being in changing landscapes); (7) Mechanisms and ecological impacts of land use change; (8) Scaling relations and hierarchical linkages of patterns and processes across landscapes; (9) Innovative methods in landscape analysis and modeling; and (10) Accuracy assessment and uncertainty analysis of landscape studies. A valuable resource for both researchers and practitioners in ecology, conservation, ecosystem management, and landscape planning and design, Landscape Ecology is currently one of the leading journals across these fields.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Editorial board by country: 14 in mainland China (about 14%); most named United States 34, Mainland China 14, United Kingdom 7, Canada 7, Australia 7 (102 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science17.9%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science14.6%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science11.6%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science7.1%
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and ConservationEnvironmental Science6%
- Fire effects on ecosystemsEnvironmental Science4.6%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science3.9%
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 | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
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 | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
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 | Geography, Physical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 4.72LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.21LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.23LetPub ·
- h-index
- 115LetPub ·
- h-index
- 200OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,150OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.45OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 83.61%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 244LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,600,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,414 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 184 | 184 | 77 |
| 2025 | 254 | 254 | 1,107 |
| 2024 | 236 | 226 | 2,489 |
| 2023 | 211 | 128 | 2,842 |
| 2022 | 200 | 95 | 3,346 |
| 2021 | 211 | 99 | 6,351 |
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
170 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 132 days – 219 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 192 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (480 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)
- 8–16 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 4,390 / EUR 3,390 / GBP 2,790 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- 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)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,500 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional, 3
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted9, with length limits
- book reviewLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …main text ≤ 1,500 words
- brief communicationLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …main text ≤ 3,500 words
- letterLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …main text ≤ 2,000 words
- opinionLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …Length not stated
- perspectiveLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …main text ≤ 4,500 words
- researchResearch (8,500) articles are based on new data and analysis or modeling and make up the bulk of Landscape Ecology.main text ≤ 8,500 words
- research articleLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …Length not stated
- reviewLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …main text ≤ 9,000 words
- review articleLandscape Ecology focuses largely on Research articles but also welcomes Review, Brief Communication, Perspective, Book Review, Letter articles, and Collection …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability
Data availability statement optional Model summary
This journal encourages authors to provide an optional statement of data availability in their article. Data Availability Statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found, including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Data availability statements can also indicate whether …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Permissions for previously published material Model summary
Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Landscape Ecology, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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
- Springer Netherlands
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1987
- ISSN
- 0921-2973
- Electronic ISSN
- 1572-9761
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Landscape Ecology
What CAS zone is Landscape Ecology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Landscape Ecology is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Ecology / Geography, Physical / Geosciences, 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 Landscape Ecology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.72; CiteScore 7.2, h-index 200.
How long does peer review take at Landscape Ecology?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 170 days (interquartile range 132–219 days); authors report an average review time of 8–16 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly 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 Landscape Ecology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,500 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional, 3; Cover letter: Required. 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 Landscape Ecology based?
Of the 102 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 14 (about 14%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (34), Mainland China (14) and United Kingdom (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Landscape Ecology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Landscape Ecology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Landscape Ecology open access, and what is the APC?
Landscape Ecology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,390.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .