Journal profile · Soil Science
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
ISSN 0167-1987 · eISSN 1879-3444 · Elsevier · NETHERLANDS · Monthly
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH: CAS Zone 1 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.37; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,570; review about 168 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 530 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Soil Management and Crop Yield and Soil and Unsaturated Flow, together about 44.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Soil Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Soil and Tillage Research is an ISTRO-affiliated journal that examines the physical, chemical and biological changes in the soil caused by tillage and field traffic. Manuscripts on all aspects of soil science, physics, technology, mechanization and applied engineering for a sustainable balance among productivity, environmental quality and profitability are considered. The following are examples of suitable topics within the scope of the journal of Soil and Tillage Research:The agricultural and biosystems engineering associated with tillage (including no-tillage, reduced-tillage and direct drilling), irrigation and drainage, crops and crop rotations, fertilization, rehabilitation of mine spoils and processes used to modify soils.Soil change effects on establishment and yield of crops, growth of plants and roots, structure and erosion of soil, cycling of carbon and nutrients, greenhouse gas emissions, leaching, runoff and other processes that affect environmental quality.Characterization or modeling of tillage and field traffic responses, soil, climate, or topographic effects, soil deformation processes, tillage tools, traction devices, energy requirements, economics, surface and subsurface water quality effects, tillage effects on weed, pest and disease control, and their interactions.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Soil Science
Editor-in-chief J. NoellemeyerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 19 in mainland China (about 26%); most named Mainland China 19, United States 13, Denmark 7, Germany 6, Brazil 4 (73 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 Sciences22.7%
- Soil Management and Crop YieldAgricultural and Biological Sciences11.5%
- Soil and Unsaturated FlowEngineering10.2%
- Soil erosion and sediment transportAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.4%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Soil Mechanics and Vehicle DynamicsEngineering5.5%
- Crop Yield and Soil FertilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.6%
- Soil Geostatistics and MappingEnvironmental Science3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Soil Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 8.37LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 8.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 13.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 13.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.01LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.04LetPub ·
- h-index
- 117LetPub ·
- h-index
- 226OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 5,303OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.72OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 19.09%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 493LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 7,609 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 407 | 158 | 274 |
| 2025 | 530 | 140 | 3,568 |
| 2024 | 373 | 115 | 6,268 |
| 2023 | 281 | 69 | 6,992 |
| 2022 | 255 | 72 | 8,205 |
| 2021 | 328 | 91 | 12,471 |
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 PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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".
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 75 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 168 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,570 / EUR 4,280 / GBP 3,660 / JPY 566,820 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,690 | — | — |
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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted8
- original research1. Original research papers (Regular Papers) 2. Review articles 3. Short Communications Original research papers should report the results of original research.…Length not stated
- original research paper1. Original research papers (Regular Papers) 2. Review articles 3. Short Communications Original research papers should report the results of original research.…Length not stated
- original research papers (regular papers)1. Original research papers (Regular Papers)Length not stated
- regular paper1. Original research papers (Regular Papers) 2. Review articles 3. Short Communications Original research papers should report the results of original research.…Length not stated
- review article1. Original research papers (Regular Papers) 2. Review articles 3. Short Communications Original research papers should report the results of original research.…Length not stated
- review articles2. Review articlesLength not stated
- short communication1. Original research papers (Regular Papers) 2. Review articles 3. Short Communications Original research papers should report the results of original research.…Length not stated
- short communications3. Short CommunicationsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 0167-1987
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-3444
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
What CAS zone is SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Soil Science; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.37; CiteScore 13.6, h-index 226.
How long does peer review take at SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH?
The publisher reports about 168 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Author–date; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: 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 SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH based?
Of the 73 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 19 (about 26%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (19), United States (13) and Denmark (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH open access, and what is the APC?
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,570.
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: .