Journal profile · Plant Sciences
Plant Biology
ISSN 1435-8603 · eISSN 1438-8677 · Wiley-Blackwell · GERMANY · Bimonthly · Founded 1999
Plant Biology: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.3; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,400; median 111 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 198 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Plant Biology is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plant and animal studies, Plant Parasitism and Resistance and Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance, together about 30.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Plant Biology is an international journal of broad scope bringing together the different subdisciplines, such as physiology, molecular biology, cell biology, development, genetics, systematics, ecology, evolution, ecophysiology, plant-microbe interactions, and mycology.Plant Biology publishes original problem-oriented full-length research papers, short research papers, and review articles. Discussion of hot topics and provocative opinion articles are published under the heading Acute Views. From a multidisciplinary perspective, Plant Biology will provide a platform for publication, information and debate, encompassing all areas which fall within the scope of plant science. Plant Biology does not publish papers which focus on plant breeding, medicinal plants, or agricultural practices.A rigorous, independent peer-review system will guarantee that all work appearing in Plant Biology will be of the highest standard and of great significance to plant biologists. In addition, the journal has a rapid review process, with online manuscript submission assisting to streamline the process.Plant Biology provides a platform for publication of information and debate, encompassing all areas of plant science.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Editor-in-chief Christiane Werner FreiburgPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 11%); most named Germany 15, Mainland China 4, Italy 4, Spain 4, United States 2 (38 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.1%
- Plant Parasitism and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.4%
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.2%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science8.1%
- Plant Molecular Biology ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences6%
- Plant Reproductive BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- Photosynthetic Processes and MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsEnvironmental Science5.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: 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
- 3.3LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 8.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 76LetPub ·
- h-index
- 132OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,450OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 46.17%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 178LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 182Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 359,788Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,885 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 140 | 94 | 70 |
| 2025 | 198 | 138 | 519 |
| 2024 | 162 | 115 | 931 |
| 2023 | 108 | 68 | 1,217 |
| 2022 | 124 | 41 | 2,034 |
| 2021 | 231 | 30 | 4,592 |
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
111 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 70 days – 177 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 30 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 143 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (358 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 24%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 37 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 99 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 36 daysPublisher 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 3,400 / EUR 2,850 / GBP 2,270 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | EUR 125 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Graphical abstract
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- concise review articles3. Concise review articlesLength not stated
- original research articleant Biology accepts 1. Problem-oriented original research articles (maximum 9000 words) 2. Problem-oriented short research articles (maximum fivemain text ≤ 9,000 words
- problem-oriented original research articlesPlant Biology accepts 1. Problem-oriented original research articles (maximum 9000 words)Length not stated
- problem-oriented short research articles2. Problem-oriented short research articles (maximum five typeset pages)Length not stated
- short reviewms and provocative opinion articles. 5. Short review articles (4,000 words excluding references and figures). Purely descriptive papermain text ≤ 4,000 words
- short review articles5. Short review articles (4,000 words excluding references and figures).Length not stated
- viewpoints4. Viewpoints, i.e., comments on actual problems and provocative opinion articles.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
Data sharing policy Model summary
Plant Biology encourages authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving them in an appropriate public repository. Authors should include a data accessibility statement, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published alongside their paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening via CrossCheck Model summary
CrossCheck for plagiarism: All submissions will be run through CrossCheck to identify any plagiarism. If an author is found to have plagiarized all or parts of his or work, the author's institute will be notified of the breach of scientific conduct.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint policy Model summary
Plant Biology will consider articles previously available on preprint servers. Authors may also post the submitted version of their manuscript to preprint servers at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final 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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1999
- ISSN
- 1435-8603
- Electronic ISSN
- 1438-8677
- Society / sponsor
- German Society for Plant Sciences and the Royal Dutch Botanical Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Plant Biology
What CAS zone is Plant Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Plant Biology is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Plant Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.3; CiteScore 8.6, h-index 132.
How long does peer review take at Plant Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 111 days (interquartile range 70–177 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 24% (2025). 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Plant Biology based?
Of the 38 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 11%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (15), Mainland China (4) and Italy (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Plant Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Plant Biology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Plant Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Plant Biology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,400.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .