Journal profile · Plant Sciences
Photosynthetica
ISSN 0300-3604 · eISSN 1573-9058 · The Institute of Experimental Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences · CZECH REPUBLIC · Quarterly · Founded 1997
Photosynthetica: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.97; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 98 days to acceptance (49 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 39 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Photosynthetica is published by The Institute of Experimental Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms, Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance and Plant responses to elevated CO2, together about 48.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
PHOTOSYNTHETICA publishes peer-reviewed, original, scientific papers, brief communications, reviews, letters to editors, announcements, and reports concerning all research on photosynthesis. Papers dealing with diverse aspects of photosynthesis are welcome, namely if they bring novelty and further understanding in this field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Editor-in-chief HELENA SYNKOVPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photosynthetic Processes and MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology19.4%
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences15.1%
- Plant responses to elevated CO2Agricultural and Biological Sciences13.6%
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsEnvironmental Science11.1%
- Light effects on plantsAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.5%
- Plant responses to water stressAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.4%
- Algal biology and biofuel productionEnergy3.1%
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolismAgricultural and Biological Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO
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
- 1.97LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.48LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.61LetPub ·
- h-index
- 59LetPub ·
- h-index
- 107OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,797OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.54OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 36LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,021 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 28 | 28 | 4 |
| 2025 | 39 | 39 | 81 |
| 2024 | 41 | 41 | 189 |
| 2023 | 43 | 43 | 309 |
| 2022 | 59 | 59 | 500 |
| 2021 | 63 | 63 | 902 |
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 PubMed · to
98 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 68 days – 133 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (49 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 129 days
- Sample
- 49 articles with submission and acceptance dates (57 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 4 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 15 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 | EUR 800 | No | CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,140 / EUR 2,480 / GBP 2,080 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 800 | No | — | |
| Publisher website | EUR 890 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- EUR 890
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 150 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- announcements and reportsThe journal publishes short announcements and reports from conferences, symposia, etc. in all fields of photosynthesis research.Length not stated
- brief communicationles published on preprint servers only. BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS Manuscripts are not longer than 4 pages (about 4,000 words) of a text (including title, abstract, t…main text ≤ 4,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 1
- brief communicationsManuscripts are not longer than 4 pages (about 4,000 words) of a text (including title, abstract, text without subdivision, references) plus maximum of 1 table …Length not stated
- letter to the editorA short commentary on a paper published earlier in the journal is possible as a Letter to the Editor. This form is not considered an original paper and should n…Length not stated
- original paperOriginal papers should not exceed 8 pages of a text (e.g. about 8,000 words). The paper should be divided as follows: Title (up to 140 characters), names and ad…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- original papersOriginal papers should not exceed 8 pages of a text (e.g. about 8,000 words).Length not stated
- reviewShort, but comprehensive reviews on specialized topics are welcome. The manuscript should not exceed 12,000 words and up to 10 tables or figures in total. The w…main text ≤ 12,000 words
- reviewsShort, but comprehensive reviews on specialized topics are welcome. The manuscript should not exceed 12,000 words and up to 10 tables or figures in total.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Publication ethics
Plagiarism screening with iThenticate. Model summary
Plagiarism-suspected papers are checked by the iThenticate plagiarism checker software.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open access since 2019; copyright remains with the author. Model summary
Photosynthetica is the open-access journal starting 2019. Copyright remains with the author.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Electronic-only submission and peer review via online system. Model summary
All manuscripts are submitted and peer-reviewed exclusively in their electronic versions via on-line system
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint disclosure required. Model summary
If the paper is published on any preprint server, the author is obliged to announce that fact to the editorial office and assign it on the title page below the title of the paper.
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
- The Institute of Experimental Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
- Country or region
- CZECH REPUBLIC
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1997
- ISSN
- 0300-3604
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-9058
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 64 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Photosynthetica
What CAS zone is Photosynthetica in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Photosynthetica is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Photosynthetica?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.97; CiteScore 4.2, h-index 107.
How long does peer review take at Photosynthetica?
Based on the dates recorded on 49 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 98 days (interquartile range 68–133 days); authors report an average review time of about 4 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 Photosynthetica?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 150 words; Keywords: ≤ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: 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.
Which databases index Photosynthetica?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Photosynthetica is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Photosynthetica open access, and what is the APC?
Photosynthetica is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .