Journal profile · Forestry
Natural Areas Journal
ISSN 0885-8608 · Natural Areas Association · UNITED STATES · Quarterly
Natural Areas Journal: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.83; subscription journal; review over 36 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 50 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Natural Areas Journal is published by Natural Areas Association 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 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Rangeland and Wildlife Management and Fire effects on ecosystems, together about 43.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Natural Areas Journal is the flagship publication of the Natural Areas Association is the leading voice in natural areas management and preservation. The Journal features peer-reviewed original research articles on topics such as: -Applied conservation biology- Ecological restoration- Natural areas management- Ecological assessment and monitoring- Invasive and exotic species management- Habitat protection- Fire ecology. It also includes writing on conservation issues, forums, topic reviews, editorials, state and federal natural area activities and book reviews. In addition, we publish special issues on various topics.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Forestry
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science18.2%
- Rangeland and Wildlife ManagementEnvironmental Science15.3%
- Fire effects on ecosystemsEnvironmental Science10.2%
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.5%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.1%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science5.4%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science4.3%
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity StudiesAgricultural and Biological 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 | Forestry | 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 | Forestry | Zone 4 |
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 | Forestry | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 0.83LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- h-index
- 37LetPub ·
- h-index
- 53OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 442OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 1.61%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 16LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,356 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 39 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 50 | 3 | 47 |
| 2024 | 44 | 10 | 57 |
| 2023 | 52 | 9 | 108 |
| 2022 | 50 | 12 | 279 |
| 2021 | 54 | 5 | 294 |
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)
- over 36 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Natural Areas Association
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- ISSN
- 0885-8608
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Natural Areas Journal
What CAS zone is Natural Areas Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Natural Areas Journal is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Ecology / Forestry. 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 Natural Areas Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.83; CiteScore 1.5, h-index 53.
How long does peer review take at Natural Areas Journal?
Authors report an average review time of over 36 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.
Which databases index Natural Areas Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Natural Areas Journal is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Natural Areas Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Natural Areas Journal is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, 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: .