Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Soil Science
Soil
ISSN 2199-3971 · eISSN 2199-398X · Copernicus · GERMANY
Soil: CAS Zone 2 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.11; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 30 weeks (community reports); 69 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Soil is published by Copernicus 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, Soil erosion and sediment transport and Soil Geostatistics and Mapping, together about 44.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
SOIL is a not-for-profit international scientific journal dedicated to the publication and discussion of high-quality research in the field of soil system sciences. SOIL is at the interface between the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. SOIL publishes scientific research that contributes to understanding the soil system and its interaction with humans and the entire Earth system. The scope of the journal includes all topics that fall within the study of soil science as a discipline, with an emphasis on studies that integrate soil science with other sciences (hydrology, agronomy, socio-economics, health sciences, atmospheric sciences, etc.). The following manuscript types can be considered for publication in SOIL: original research articles, review articles, short communications, forum articles, and letters to the editors. SOIL welcomes contributions focusing on the physical, chemical, and/or biological aspects of the soil system. The journal especially values papers that go beyond disciplinary boundaries and/or highlight the interactions and feedbacks between the soil system and other Earth system components: soils and plants; soils and water; soils and atmosphere; soils and biogeochemical cycling; soils and the natural environment; soils and the human environment; soils and food security; soils and biodiversity; soils and global change; soils and health; soil as a resource; soil systems; soil degradation; soil protection and remediation; soil and methods.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Soil Science
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 4%); most named France 4, United Kingdom 3, Germany 2, Switzerland 2, Belgium 2 (27 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 Sciences25.3%
- Soil erosion and sediment transportAgricultural and Biological Sciences10%
- Soil Geostatistics and MappingEnvironmental Science9.2%
- Soil and Unsaturated FlowEngineering9%
- Peatlands and Wetlands EcologyEnvironmental Science6%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences3.1%
- Clay minerals and soil interactionsMaterials Science3%
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 | Soil Science | Zone 3 |
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 | Soil Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview 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 | Soil Science | 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 SciencePublisher website
Other: Google Scholar
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
- 5.11LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2023
- 6.61Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 56Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2018
- 22Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.54LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1.54Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.32LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.32Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 326OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.01OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 64LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 579 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 52 | 35 |
| 2025 | 69 | 69 | 396 |
| 2024 | 50 | 50 | 768 |
| 2023 | 39 | 39 | 743 |
| 2022 | 48 | 48 | 1,136 |
| 2021 | 46 | 46 | 3,636 |
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)
- about 30 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 30 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Open 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 1,800 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | EUR 1,030 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 1,030 | Yes | — |
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)
Article types accepted4
- forum articlesForum articlesLength not stated
- original research articlesOriginal research articlesLength not stated
- review articlesReview articlesLength not stated
- short communicationsShort communicationsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Peer review
- AI use
Authors must disclose the use of AI tools in manuscript generation in the Methods section or Acknowledgements. Model summary
Should you have used AI tools to generate (parts of) your manuscript, please describe the usage either in the Methods section or the Acknowledgements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Authors must agree to and comply with the general obligations for authors. Model summary
to agree and comply with the general obligations for authors;
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data must be deposited in FAIR-aligned repositories with persistent identifiers (preferably DOIs); a Data availability statement is required; restrictions must be explained. Model summary
Authors are requested to follow our data policy including the deposit of research data (i.e. the material necessary to validate the research findings) that correspond to manuscripts, preprints, or journal articles in reliable FAIR-aligned data repositories that assign persistent identifiers (preferably digital object identifiers (DOIs)).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Authors must agree to and comply with the journal's licence and copyright agreement. Model summary
to agree and comply with the licence and copyright agreement;
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Figure colour schemes must be accessible to readers with colour vision deficiencies. Model summary
to ensure that your figures' colour schemes allow readers with colour vision deficiencies to correctly interpret your findings (see our guidelines for figures & tables);
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
- Copernicus
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2199-3971
- Electronic ISSN
- 2199-398X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- 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 Soil
What CAS zone is Soil in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Soil is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 3 of the minor category 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 Soil?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.11; CiteScore 7.7, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Soil?
Authors report an average review time of about 30 weeks. 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 Soil based?
Of the 27 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are France (4), United Kingdom (3) and Germany (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Soil?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Soil is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Soil open access, and what is the APC?
Soil 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: .