Journal profile · Limnology
Limnology
ISSN 1439-8621 · eISSN 1439-863X · Springer Japan · JAPAN · Tri-annual · Founded 2000
Limnology: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.36; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,490; median 264 days to acceptance (86 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 47 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Limnology is published by Springer Japan 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 Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics, Marine and coastal ecosystems and Fish Ecology and Management Studies, together about 39.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Limnology is a scientific journal published three times a year, in January, April, and August, by Springer in association with the Japanese Society of Limnology. The editors welcome original scientific contributions on physical, chemical, biological, or related research, including environmental issues and ecosystem restoration, on any aspect of basic, theoretical, or applied limnology that present significant findings for the community of scholars. The journal publishes Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, and Comments.The aims and scope of Limnology are to publish scientific and/or technical papers in limnological sciences, to serve as a platform for information dissemination among scientists and practitioners, to enhance international links, and to contribute to the development of limnology.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Limnology
Editor-in-chief Hideyuki DoiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 3%); most named Japan 42, Brazil 4, Italy 3, Mainland China 2, South Korea 2 (62 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton DynamicsEnvironmental Science16.9%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences12.5%
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science9.7%
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecologyEnvironmental Science8.6%
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and BehaviorEnvironmental Science8.2%
- Isotope Analysis in EcologyEnvironmental Science4.6%
- Microbial Community Ecology and PhysiologyEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science3.9%
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 | 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 | 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 | Limnology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASCAB 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
- 1.36LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.52LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.82LetPub ·
- h-index
- 30LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 466OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.43OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 20.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 45LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 86,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 922 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 37 | 14 | 3 |
| 2025 | 47 | 13 | 54 |
| 2024 | 38 | 14 | 117 |
| 2023 | 26 | 7 | 140 |
| 2022 | 19 | 6 | 225 |
| 2021 | 42 | 6 | 385 |
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
264 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 204 days – 348 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 22 days (86 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 295 days
- Sample
- 86 articles with submission and acceptance dates (94 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 9 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 3,490 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,290 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
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
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 3–5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 5
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- conference proceedings
Article types accepted15
- commentsComments generally provide alternative interpretations of or insight into articles published in Limnology. Comments should be short and concise. They are limite…Length not stated
- editorialManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- editorialsEditorials generally provide information, such as news, announcements and obituaries, which are relevant for readers of Limnology. Editorials are not externally…Length not stated
- letterManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- letter to the editorManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- rapid communicationManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- rapid communicationsRapid communications should be notes on timely topics including new methods, novel findings, or suggestive results that may have an impact on future studies. Th…Length not stated
- research paperManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- research papersResearch papers should contain fully developed analysis and detailed accounts of significant findings for the community of scholars. Taxonomic papers are also c…Length not stated
- research reportManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- research reportsResearch reports, which were renewed from Asia/Oceania reports since October 2023, include scientific descriptions of unique phenomena in poorly known study sys…Length not stated
- reviewManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- review articleManuscripts should be in the form of Rapid communications, Research papers, Review articles, Research reports, Comments or Editorials. Limnology also publishes …Length not stated
- review articlesReview articles should provide novel insight and syntheses of topical subjects. We do not publish papers that simply review the literature. They are limited to …Length not stated
- special featuresLimnology also publishes Special features.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship AI authorship
Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, do not currently satisfy our authorship criteria. Notably an attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, which cannot be effectively applied to LLMs. Use of an LLM should be properly documented in the Methods section (and if a Methods section is not available, in a suitable alternative part) of the manuscript. The use of an …
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
Three to five keywords are required, which should be different from words in the manuscript title. Model summary
Please provide three to five keywords which can be used for indexing purposes.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
A declaration of compliance with local laws for experiments must be included at the end of acknowledgments. Model summary
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 Copyright
Permission from copyright owners is required for previously published material, with evidence included at submission. Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Limnology, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Authors must suggest five potential referees with names, affiliations, and email addresses; they should not be from the same institution, current collaborators, or have co-published with authors in the past five years. Model summary
Authors are required to suggest the names, affiliations, and email addresses of five potential referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Abstract must be 250 words or less, without undefined abbreviations or unspecified references. Model summary
Please provide an abstract of 250 words or less.
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 Japan
- Country or region
- JAPAN
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Tri-annual
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 1439-8621
- Electronic ISSN
- 1439-863X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 27, Issue 2 (April 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Limnology
What CAS zone is Limnology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Limnology is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category 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 Limnology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.36; CiteScore 3.5, h-index 51.
How long does peer review take at Limnology?
Based on the dates recorded on 86 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 264 days (interquartile range 204–348 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; 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 Limnology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 3–5; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Required, 5; 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 Limnology based?
Of the 62 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Japan (42), Brazil (4) and Italy (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Limnology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Limnology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Limnology open access, and what is the APC?
Limnology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,490.
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: .