Journal profile · Agronomy
Plant and Soil
ISSN 0032-079X · eISSN 1573-5036 · Springer International Publishing · NETHERLANDS · Semimonthly · Founded 1948
Plant and Soil: CAS Zone 2 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.77; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,790; median 131 days to acceptance (189 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 1,052 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Plant and Soil is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism and Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis, together about 34.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Plant and Soil publishes original papers and review articles exploring the interface of plant biology and soil sciences, and that enhance our mechanistic understanding of plant-soil interactions. We focus on the interface of plant biology and soil sciences and seek those manuscripts with a strong mechanistic component that develop and test hypotheses aimed at understanding underlying mechanisms of plant-soil interactions. In addition, we consider manuscripts that deal with plant nutrition, agronomy, or ecology that shift our fundamental understanding of plant production systems. These manuscripts must be of outstanding quality. Simple fertiliser trials, which are valuable in plant nutrition and ecological research in their own right, will still not be considered. Manuscripts are expected to be based on studies that are hypothesis-driven. Articles including a major molecular or modelling component also fall within the scope of the journal. Plant and Soil does not consider for publication any research on tobacco crops and/or research funded by the tobacco industry; research studies using tobacco as a model species or for pharming are welcome All contributions appear in the English language, with consistent spelling, using either American or British English. Plant and Soil provides rapid publication of full-length papers describing the results of original research. Articles accepted for publication in Plant and Soil report novel findings of general significance. Reviews, mini-reviews, opinion papers, and commentaries are usually solicited by members of the Editorial Board. However, individuals who wish to prepare a review or a mini-review are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief (hans.lambers@uwa.edu.au) before submitting a manuscript. Plant and Soil also publish Special Issues containing a collection of articles on a theme considered by the editors to be of general interest to our readers. These Special Issues may consist of a selection of presentations from a scientific meeting or a collection of papers organised by an individual or group. In all cases, manuscripts submitted for publication as part of a Special Issue will be subject to the same rigorous peer-review process required of regular submissions. Individuals or groups wishing to organise a Special Issue of Plant and Soil should contact the Managing Editor, Lieve Bultynck (plso-plants@uwa.edu.au) to discuss the feasibility of the project.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agronomy
Editor-in-chief Hans LambersPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 68 in mainland China (about 22%); most named Mainland China 68, Australia 36, United States 31, United Kingdom 20, Germany 19 (307 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAgricultural and Biological Sciences16.7%
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolismAgricultural and Biological Sciences9.4%
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing SymbiosisAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.6%
- Plant Micronutrient Interactions and EffectsAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.2%
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant InteractionsAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.4%
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.8%
- Agronomic Practices and Intercropping SystemsAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.3%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 4.77LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.33LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 163LetPub ·
- h-index
- 303OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 15,185OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.77OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 23.04%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,017LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 3,300,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 21,269 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 924 | 261 | 359 |
| 2025 | 1,052 | 296 | 3,451 |
| 2024 | 695 | 242 | 6,256 |
| 2023 | 604 | 217 | 9,023 |
| 2022 | 630 | 238 | 12,356 |
| 2021 | 438 | 150 | 11,529 |
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
131 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 96 days – 167 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (189 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 146 days
- Sample
- 189 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,132 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 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- 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 4,790 / EUR 3,790 / GBP 2,990 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1, with length limits
- reviewprior to submitting a manuscript. Mini-reviews should be less than 2500 words, 50 references and 4 figures or tables. Methods Papers: Metmain text ≤ 2,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints
- 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 Copyright
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 Plant and Soil, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint
Preprint policy: preprints allowed Model summary
Plant and Soil will consider manuscripts that have been posted in part or in full on a preprint server, such as but not limited to bioRxiv, PeerJ Preprints, OSF Preprints. Plant and Soil strongly recommends citing the most recent version of the article. If the article uploaded in the preprint server has been published in a scientific journal include the reference to the published article.
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 International Publishing
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1948
- ISSN
- 0032-079X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-5036
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 525, Issue 2 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Plant and Soil
What CAS zone is Plant and Soil in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Plant and Soil is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Agronomy / Plant Sciences / Soil Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Plant and Soil?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.77; CiteScore 7.5, h-index 303.
How long does peer review take at Plant and Soil?
Based on the dates recorded on 189 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 131 days (interquartile range 96–167 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 50%”. 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 Plant and Soil?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Required; 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 Plant and Soil based?
Of the 307 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 68 (about 22%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (68), Australia (36) and United States (31). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Plant and Soil?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Plant and Soil 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 Plant and Soil open access, and what is the APC?
Plant and Soil is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,790.
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: .