Journal profile · Agronomy
SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION
ISSN 0038-0768 · eISSN 1747-0765 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · JAPAN · Bimonthly · Founded 1955
SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION: CAS Zone 4 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.02; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 150; median 147 days to acceptance (79 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 73 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. and is in Zone 4 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 Clay minerals and soil interactions, together about 28.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Soil Science and Plant Nutrition (SSPN) is a peer-reviewed international journal and an official journal of the Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition (JSSSPN) that publishes outstanding original research findings and reviews in soil physics, soil chemistry and soil mineralogy; soil biology; plant nutrition; soil genesis, classification and survey; soil fertility; fertilizers and soil amendments; environment; socio-cultural soil science. The journal publishes full length papers, short papers, and reviews. It is also one of the cooperating journals of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS).Papers in any of the following fields will be considered, and authors are requested to designate their manuscript according to one of these divisions on submission: Soil physics Soil chemistry and soil mineralogy Soil biology Plant nutrition Soil genesis, classification and survey Soil fertility Fertilizers and soil amendments Environment Socio cultural soil science Members and non-members of JSSSPN are encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication. However, non-members will be charged an additional US$150 per accepted article. Peer Review Policy: All peer review is single anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agronomy
Editor-in-chief Kyoko HiguchiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Japan 47, Mainland China 3, Germany 2, Taiwan, China 1, South Korea 1 (61 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 Sciences14.2%
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolismAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.7%
- Clay minerals and soil interactionsMaterials Science6.7%
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing SymbiosisAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.4%
- Plant Micronutrient Interactions and EffectsAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.2%
- Soil and Unsaturated FlowEngineering6.1%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science4.9%
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASGeoRefCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, AGRICOLA, International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), AGRICOLA Database (National Agricultural Library), BIOBASE (Elsevier), Biological Abstracts® (Clarivate Analytics), BIOSIS Previews® (Clarivate Analytics), CAB HEALTH (CABI), CABDirect (CABI), CSA Biological Sciences Database (CSA/CIG), Current Abstracts (EBSCO), Embiology (Elsevier), Environmental Issues & Policy Index (EBSCO), InfoTrac, Irrigation & Drainage Abstracts (CABI), ProtoZoological Abstracts (Elsevier)
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
- 2.02LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.6LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.6Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.77Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 110OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,764OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.1OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 7.05%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 61LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 548,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,365 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 47 | 17 | 10 |
| 2025 | 73 | 25 | 96 |
| 2024 | 67 | 44 | 287 |
| 2023 | 43 | 37 | 255 |
| 2022 | 61 | 28 | 443 |
| 2021 | 85 | 24 | 1,097 |
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
147 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 93 days – 199 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (79 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 160 days
- Sample
- 79 articles with submission and acceptance dates (143 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)
- 18–36 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 23%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 41 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 150 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 150
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
- Not considered
- papers outside the listed divisions
Article types accepted3
- full length papersThe journal publishes full length papers, short papers, and reviews.Length not stated
- reviewsThe journal publishes full length papers, short papers, and reviews.Length not stated
- short papersThe journal publishes full length papers, short papers, and reviews.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Soil Science and Plant Nutrition is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverab…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Single anonymized peer review; online submission via ScholarOne Manuscripts Model summary
All peer review is single anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
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
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- JAPAN
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1955
- ISSN
- 0038-0768
- Electronic ISSN
- 1747-0765
- Society / sponsor
- Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 72, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION
What CAS zone is SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION is in Zone 4 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Plant Sciences / Soil Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.02; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 110.
How long does peer review take at SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION?
Based on the dates recorded on 79 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 147 days (interquartile range 93–199 days); authors report an average review time of 18–36 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 23%. 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 JCR quartile is SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences.
Where are the editorial board members of SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION based?
Of the 61 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Japan (47), Mainland China (3) and Germany (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAS, GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION open access, and what is the APC?
SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 150.
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: .