Journal profile · Multiple
Plants People Planet
ISSN 2572-2611 · Wiley · United Kingdom
Plants People Planet: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.01; fully open access; APC about USD 3,340; median 150 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 44% (journal website); 186 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Plants People Planet is published by Wiley and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plant and animal studies, Animal and Plant Science Education and Species Distribution and Climate Change, together about 34.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Plants, People, Planet publishes innovative plant-focused research at the intersection of plants, society, and the planet. We are a broad-scope journal and will consider all disciplinary plant-focused studies, as well as inter/transdisciplinary plant-focused studies, with societal impact and wide interest. We encourage work that seeks to address global issues with plant-focused solutions or questions. Given the vital importance of plants and plant-focused research to tackling major global challenges—such as climate change, biodiversity loss, human health and wellbeing—we are an ideal forum for highlighting work with implications for policy or for studies with practical applications. We welcome timely Reviews that synthesise the latest literature on topics of relevance to the journal’s interests. Reviews should consider the pathways to societal impact and reflect on the intersection of their area with other disciplines to drive forward developments in understanding. We also welcome authoritative Opinion pieces at the interface between plants and society. Opinions should provide novel and constructive perspectives related to debates of broad interest, or consider the role of plants or plant-focused research in innovative ways to advance thinking on global issues. When preparing to submit a manuscript to Plants, People, Planet, authors should carefully consider the impact of their work on people’s daily lives and on the world in which we live, and ensure their study and its findings are framed and discussed within this context. These types of wider societal aspects should be at the forefront of a submission, starting with the title, which should be written to reflect the journal’s interests and appeal to a broad audience, right through to the conclusion, which should carefully consider the immediate or potential impact of the work for people and the planet. Studies where one of the central motivations is benefit to society or to tackle global challenges are ideal for the journal. When our Editors consider the suitability of a manuscript submitted to Plants, People, Planet, they look for a clear rationale for choosing to submit to the journal in terms of the work’s societal relevance and impact. In addition, they consider whether a manuscript will provide a sufficient level of wide interest to appeal to our wide international readership that also crosses disciplines. Hence, studies that are not presented with this broad audience in mind may not provide the lev
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Simon HiscockPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 11 in mainland China (about 10%); most named United Kingdom 41, United States 22, Mainland China 11, Australia 5, Netherlands 4 (114 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 Sciences14.5%
- Animal and Plant Science EducationPsychology10%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science9.7%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science8.6%
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant InteractionsAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.2%
- Plant Parasitism and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.3%
- Plant Diversity and EvolutionAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.3%
- Urban Green Space and HealthEnvironmental Science3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biodiversity Conservation | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceCurrent ContentsPublisher website
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
- 4.01LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.57LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 329OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.36OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 141LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 171Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 771,693Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 928 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 127 | 127 | 67 |
| 2025 | 186 | 186 | 618 |
| 2024 | 157 | 157 | 1,362 |
| 2023 | 117 | 117 | 1,322 |
| 2022 | 91 | 91 | 1,568 |
| 2021 | 74 | 74 | 1,387 |
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
150 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 88 days – 218 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 44 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 204 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (350 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 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 44%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 44%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 45 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 45 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 127 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 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 | USD 3,340 / GBP 2,530 / EUR 2,930 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,180 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,410 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,750 / GBP 2,090 / EUR 2,420 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted17, with length limits
- brief reportPlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…main text ≤ 2,000 words
- brief reportsBrief Reports highlight novel and exciting preliminary findings of research in progress or present a case study, policy brief, or report of particular interest.Length not stated
- editorialArticles will be sent for review if the Editorial Board determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Specific editorial a…Length not stated
- flora obscuraFlora Obscura is a series of short articles highlighting extraordinary plant biology.Length not stated
- letterPlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…Length not stated
- meta-analysisPlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…Length not stated
- methods and techniquesMethods and Techniques provide a forum for novel inter/transdisciplinary approaches for researchers, practitioners and educators at the interface between plants…Length not stated
- open lettersOpen Letters present bold and authoritative calls to action to those in positions to elicit and enact change, such as practitioners and policymakers.Length not stated
- opinions to advance thinking on global issues. Opinions should be in the region of 2000-4000 words and the inclusion of display items is welcome. Flora Obscurmain text ≤ 4,000 words
- opinion articlesOpinion articles should provide novel and constructive perspectives related to debates of broad interest, or consider the role of plants or plant-focused resear…Length not stated
- protocolPlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…Length not stated
- research articlePlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…main text ≤ 4,000 words
- research articlesResearch articles report complete studies that provide new and valuable insights into plant science, or the interface between plants and society.Length not stated
- reviewPlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…main text ≤ 4,000 words
- reviewsReviews are critical reviews of the literature, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Length not stated
- systematic reviewPlants, People, Planet will consider a number of article types. Where appropriate, authors can include supporting information that will be published in addition…Length not stated
- thomas reviewsThomas Reviews are invited articles that provide authoritative and accessible reviews on topics at the intersection of plants, people, and the planet.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use
AI tools cannot be listed as an author; use of AI-generated content must be described transparently in Materials & Methods or Acknowledgements. Model summary
Plants, People, Planet follows COPE’s position statement on AI tools, and stipulates that AI tools cannot be listed as an author of an article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship and publication policies
Authors are required to ensure that articles submitted to Plants, People, Planet meet the ethical standards required of scholarly research. These ethical standards include, but are not limited to, the rights of any author to be associated with his or her own work; submitted papers should be the work of the submitting author(s) and authors should ensure that the work of others is properly cited and…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
Plants, People, Planet requires that all editors, authors, and peer reviewers disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise, that might be perceived as influencing objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or indirectly related to the work that the authors descr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability Statement
Authors are required to provide a Data Availability Statement describing the availability of data. Find example text for your specific dataset here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Original work only; not under review or previously published elsewhere. Model summary
Articles will be sent for review if the Editorial Board determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Specific editorial and ethical policies are below. Authorship and publication policies Authors are required to ensure that articles submitted to Plants, People, Planet meet the ethical standards required of scholarly research. These ethical standards include, …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review THE REVIEW PROCESS
All manuscripts are allocated to a relevant member of the Editorial board, who determines whether the paper should go forward to peer review. Those that are not sent for external review will be returned at this stage; we make every effort to do this as quickly as possible. The journal operates a single anonymised peer-review process. Manuscripts sent out for review will, typically, be assessed by …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Plants, People, Planet will consider articles that have been submitted in part or in full to a preprint server, such as bioRxiv. Please contact Central Office if you have any queries regarding this ([email protected]).
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
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2572-2611
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 8, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Plants People Planet
What CAS zone is Plants People Planet in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Plants People Planet is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biodiversity Conservation / Plant Sciences / Ecology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Plants People Planet?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.01; CiteScore 6.9, h-index 52.
How long does peer review take at Plants People Planet?
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 150 days (interquartile range 88–218 days); authors report an average review time of about 12 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 44% (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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Plants People Planet?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional; 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 Plants People Planet based?
Of the 114 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 11 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (41), United States (22) and Mainland China (11). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Plants People Planet?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Plants People Planet is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Plants People Planet open access, and what is the APC?
Plants People Planet is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,340.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, 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: .