ACS - Journal of Environmental Quality Editorial Board (ACS324.1)
2019 Annual Report
ACS324.1 JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EDITORIAL BOARD - 2019 Annual Report
Editor’s Report – Ed Gregorich
Editorial Board Meeting – Nov. 13, Hilton Hotel
Editorial Board Update
Tsutomu Ohno and Rod Venterea are finishing their second term as Technical Editors at the end of 2019 and Alex Chow and Rich Farrell will be replacing them for a 3-year term. I thank Stom and Rod for their diligence in providing good, solid oversight of manuscript evaluations. The Associate Editors listed below will complete their terms at the end of the 2019. They have provided excellent oversight of manuscript reviews and conducted comprehensive reviews. Laura Christianson was JEQ Science Communications Editor and provided excellent advice on promoting articles to the scientific community and lay audience. On behalf of the Technical Editors, I thank them for their hard work.
Laure Mamy
Alex Chow
Rota Wagai
Wei Zheng
Zach Easton
Laura E. Christianson (Science Communications Editor)
JEQ Best Paper Award
This award was established to recognize an outstanding scientific paper published in JEQ in the last three years. A panel comprising the Technical Editors, the incoming Editor, and me, reviewed and evaluated a number of papers. We selected the best paper on the basis of how the manuscript has advanced knowledge in environmental science, the effectiveness of communication, originality, and the scientific impact as measured by number of citations and downloads.
The JEQ Best Paper for 2018 is: Assessing the Yield and Load of Contaminants with Stream Order: Would Policy Requiring Livestock to Be Fenced Out of High-Order Streams Decrease Catchment Contaminant Loads? R.W. McDowell, N. Cox and T.H. Snelder (2017) 46:1038–1047. doi:10.2134/jeq2017.05.0212
A formal announcement was made at the Publishing Reception on Sunday, Nov 10, 2019 at the SSSA meetings in San Antonio.
Analysis of submissions
Submissions and acceptance rate of manuscripts submitted to JEQ (2014-2019)
Number of manuscripts submitted | Acceptance rate |
2019: 378 (Jan 1 to Dec 16) | 2019: 49% |
2018: 414 | 2018: 46% |
2017: 461 | 2017: 39% |
2016: 466 | 2016: 36% |
2015: 621 | 2015: 37% |
Average review times for JEQ manuscript (2015-2019). As of September 30, 2019.
| Year | |||||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|
| --------- Average Number of Days -------- | |||||
Editor to TE | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
|
TE to AE | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 5.1 |
|
AE assign reviewer | 15.1 | 17.2 | 12.5 | 10.5 | 11.1 |
|
Days with reviewer | 24.9 | 23.6 | 18.8 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
|
Days to release | 45.4 | 47.0 | 39.2 | 42.5 | 35.1 |
|
1st recommendation of revision | 68.1 | 62.7 | 60.1 | 64.9 | 56.9 |
|
Days in revision | 29.5 | 27.3 | 25.2 | 28.3 | 27.5 |
|
Days to final decision | 80.1 | 76.0 | 56.1 | 63.6 | 69.3 |
|
Summary of papers by category to show trends in current topics
Number of papers published in each subject matter category (2015-2019)
Category | Vol. 48 2019 | Vol 47 2018 | Vol 46 2017 | Vol 45 2016 | Vol 44 2015 |
Reviews & Analyses | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Environmental Issues | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Special Collections | 79 | 58 | 31 | 71 | 57 |
Technical Notes & Preliminary Communications | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 9 |
Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases | 11 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 13 |
Biodegradation and Bioremediation | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
Ecological Risk Assessment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ecosystem Restoration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Environmental Microbiology | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
Environmental Models, Modules, and Datasets | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
Ground Water Quality | 4 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
Landscape and Watershed Processes | 9 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 13 |
Organic Compounds in the Environment | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 15 |
Plant and Environment Interactions | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
Remote Sensing & Environmental Degradation | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Surface Water Quality | 26 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
Urban Pollutants | 3 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Trace Elements in the Environment | 5 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 9 |
Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical Transport | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Waste Management | 11 | 11 | 20 | 17 | 17 |
Wetlands and Aquatic Processes | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
Datasets | 3 | 0 | 3 |
|
|
JEQ Total Submissions (Jan -Dec 16, 2019) | 339 | % |
US | 163 | 43% |
International | 215 | 58% |
Paper Type | ||
Book Review | 0 | 0% |
Letter to the Editor | 2 | 1% |
Dataset Paper | 4 | 1% |
Environmental Issues | 32 | 9% |
Reviews & Analyses | 11 | 3% |
Special collection: AES | 26 | 8% |
Special collection: AWQS | 12 | 4% |
Special collection: CDP | 34 | 10% |
|
|
|
Special collection: RPM | 1 | 0% |
|
|
|
Tech. Notes & Preliminary Comm. | 20 | 6% |
Technical Research Paper | 197 | 58% |
Special Collections of Papers in JEQ (2015-2019)
2019: 5 with 79 papers
2018: 4 with 58 papers
2017: 2 with 30 papers
2016: 5 with 71 papers
2015: 4 with 57 papers
Special Collections of Papers Published in 2019
Buffer Strip Effectiveness for Sediment and Nutrient retention, Enhancing Biodiversity, Planning and Public Preferences
Editors: Marc Stutter, Brian Kronvang and Joachim Rozemeijer
Agricultural Water Quality in Cold Environments
Guest Editors: Jian Liu, Helen Baulch, Jane Elliott, Merrin Macrae, and Henry Wilson
Viewpoints on the future of humic substances research
Celebrating the 350th Anniversary of Discovering Phosphorus—For Better or Worse
Guest Editors: Andrew Sharpley, Peter Kleinman, and Don Flaten
Alkaline Extraction of Soils and Natural Waters to Understand Environmental Processes
Guest Editors: Nik Qafoku, Nancy Hess, and Garrison Sposito
Special Collections expected in 2020
System-level Nutrient Pollution Control Strategies
Guest Editors: Mazdak Arabi, James Mihelcic, and James Shortle
Global Research Alliance N2O Chamber Methodology Guidelines
Guest Editors: Rod Venterea, Cecile de Klein, Mike Harvey, Søren Petersen, Tim Clough
JEQ’s impact factor
The journal’s impact factor increased again this year – from 2.41 to 2.58. This is the fourth consecutive year it has increased (see figure below) and is the second highest it has ever been. The 5-year IF went down a bit, but it's still higher than the 2-yr IF, which we expect. JEQ is ranked in the top 40% of all ‘environmental science’ journals published (>240 journals).
Other journal metrics such as Google Scholar’s h5 index show that JEQ is quite strong relative to other journals. JEQ has an h5 index of 40 and it ranks 8th out of 20 soil science journals. JEQ’s Cite Score (2.72 is the highest score it has ever received) puts it among the top 20% of journals in the category of water science and technology.
JEQ Impact Factor (2014-2018)
Year | Total Cites (rank) | Impact Factor (rank) |
2018 2017 | 15,317 14,507 | 2.579 (106 of 250) 2.405 (100 of 241) |
2016 | 14,211 | 2.344 (89 of 229) |
2015 | 13622 | 2.238 (87 of 225) |
2014 | 13085 | 2.652 (63 of 223) |
5-year Impact Factor
2018: 2.875
2017: 2.962
2016: 2.986
2015: 2.924
2014: 2.972
JEQ Statistics Panel
A JEQ Statistics Panel was established this year (see names below). The purpose of this Panel is to have experts in statistics available to answer statistical questions/concerns that come up during reviews of manuscripts. The advice provided has been invaluable for answering some questions and improved the manuscripts. I encourage you to use this expertise. Please contact a Statistics Panel member (or your TE) if you or your reviewers have any questions related to statistics in manuscripts under review. Their names are (for now) on the list of reviewers in Manuscript Central.
Members of the JEQ Statistics Panel
Kate Hu
Kimberly Campbell
Yanchong Huangfu
Puran Bridgemohan
Russell Yost
Edzard van Santen
Kathleen Yeater
Nothabo Dube
Dale Wilson
Terry Loecke
Vera Bulaevskaya
Alison Eagle
Use of statistical significance
Over the last few months there have been a few papers related to the use of p-values and statistical significance. The basic idea is that conclusions of scientific studies should not be based solely on whether an effect was ‘statistically significant’. This is a big shift in thinking for those of us who were taught otherwise (e.g., that there was no difference between two groups because the difference was ‘statistically not significant’ as determined by p < 0.05). I have raised this issue with the JEQ Statistics Panel and we are considering including some recommendations in the author instructions about the use of ‘statistical significance’ in manuscripts. We will be discussing this at the meetings.
Developing new special collections of papers
Some of the most highly cited/downloaded papers in JEQ are in special collections and so they are important to the journal. Please consider suggesting or leading the organization of a special collection yourself. Forward your ideas and suggestions to the new editor, Doug Smith.
Increasing the visibility and promoting JEQ articles
Improving the visibility of JEQ articles will raise awareness of environmental science and our scientific disciplines. We have a Science Communications Editor who oversees which JEQ papers to publicize to the general public or scientific community. There is a feature in Manuscript Central that appears on the dashboard at the final recommendation stage. It allows you to flag an article for promotion when you make a final decision. It is here that you can add a few sentences to describe the importance of the research and why the paper should be promoted.
JEQ has a Twitter account (@jenvironqual). Follow JEQ if you’re on Twitter and please retweet messages.Also, send your ideas and comments about articles or scientific issues in JEQ to Ann Edahl to tweet and/or post on Facebook.
Reviewers – how to find them
Finding suitable reviewers can often be difficult and sometimes AEs can invite numerous reviewers but no one accepts. This causes delays in the review process. Please contact the TE or me after asking 5 individuals to review a paper without success; we will help you find reviewers.
Contact information for JEQ
Ann Edahl, managing editor (aedahl@sciencesocieties.org)
Matt Wascavage, director of publications (mwascavage@sciencesocieties.org)
Abby Morrison, editorial assistant (amorrison@sciencesocieties.org)
Lauren Coleman, submissions manager (lcoleman@sciencesocieties.org)
Acknowledgments
I have completed my second term and the incoming editor is Doug Smith (USDA-ARS, Temple, TX). The success of JEQ in producing important and timely scientific articles is due to the conscientious and diligent efforts of the JEQ Technical Editors, Associate Editors, and ASA-CSSA-SSSA staff. I am grateful to the members of the JEQ Editorial Board and the ASA-CSSA-SSSA staff for their efforts in maintaining rigorous standards for evaluating, reviewing and editing manuscripts.
I especially thank Ann Edahl for her help, advice and hard work as Managing Editor; it has been a pleasure to work with her.
Ed Gregorich, Editor
Journal of Environmental Quality
Items Requiring Board Attention:
Members of the Committee:
Ellen Bergfeld (Member, Ex Officio)
Lauren Matthews (Member, Ex Officio)
Matt Wascavage (Member, Ex Officio)
David Myrold (SSSA Editor-in-Chief)
Daniel Sweeney (ASA Editor-in-Chief)
C. Wayne Smith (CSSA Editor-in-Chief)
Edward Gregorich (JEQ Editor)
Ganga Hettiarachchi (JEQ Technical Editor)
Peter Kleinman (JEQ Technical Editor)
Tsutomu Ohno (JEQ Technical Editor)
Yakov Pachepsky (JEQ Technical Editor)
Michelle Soupir (JEQ Technical Editor)
Rodney Venterea (JEQ Technical Editor)
Eduardo Alvarez Santos (JEQ Associate Editor)
Barbara Amon (JEQ Associate Editor)
Ray Anderson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Mikhail Borisover (JEQ Associate Editor)
Karen Bradham (JEQ Associate Editor)
John Brooks (JEQ Associate Editor)
Anthony Buda (JEQ Associate Editor)
Samuel Carrick (JEQ Associate Editor)
Nora Casson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Zhongqi Cheng (JEQ Associate Editor)
Alex Chow (JEQ Associate Editor)
Laura Christianson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Katelyn Congreves (JEQ Associate Editor)
Curtis Dell (JEQ Associate Editor)
Emmanuel Doelsch (JEQ Associate Editor)
Donnacha Doody (JEQ Associate Editor)
Lisa Durso (JEQ Associate Editor)
Zachary Easton (JEQ Associate Editor)
Richard Farrell (JEQ Associate Editor)
Donald Flaten (JEQ Associate Editor)
Girisha Ganjegunte (JEQ Associate Editor)
Laura Good (JEQ Associate Editor)
Markus Grafe (JEQ Associate Editor)
Mussie Habteselassie (JEQ Associate Editor)
Thomas Harter (JEQ Associate Editor)
Diederik Jacques (JEQ Associate Editor)
Rob Jamieson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Jaehak Jeong (JEQ Associate Editor)
Laura Johnson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Tim Johnson (JEQ Associate Editor)
John Kelly (JEQ Associate Editor)
Casey Kennedy (JEQ Associate Editor)
Hyunjung Kim (JEQ Associate Editor)
Peter Kopittke (JEQ Associate Editor)
Jian Liu (JEQ Associate Editor)
Terry Loecke (JEQ Associate Editor)
Merrin Macrae (JEQ Associate Editor)
Bijesh Maharjan (JEQ Associate Editor)
Laure Mamy (JEQ Associate Editor)
Celia Manaia (JEQ Associate Editor)
Yael Mishael (JEQ Associate Editor)
Daniel Plaza-Bonilla (JEQ Associate Editor)
Matthew Polizzotto (JEQ Associate Editor)
Heather Preisendanz (JEQ Associate Editor)
Zhiming Qi (JEQ Associate Editor)
Budong Qian (JEQ Associate Editor)
Upendra Sainju (JEQ Associate Editor)
Angelia Seyfferth (JEQ Associate Editor)
Douglas Smith (JEQ Associate Editor)
Bryan Spears (JEQ Associate Editor)
Ke Sun (JEQ Associate Editor)
David Tarkalson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Martin Tsui (JEQ Associate Editor)
Minori Uchimiya (JEQ Associate Editor)
Nikolina Udikovic-Kolic (JEQ Associate Editor)
Tameria Veith (JEQ Associate Editor)
Rota Wagai (JEQ Associate Editor)
Heidi Waldrip (JEQ Associate Editor)
Yongshan Wan (JEQ Associate Editor)
Clinton Williams (JEQ Associate Editor)
Paul Williams (JEQ Associate Editor)
Yu Yang (JEQ Associate Editor)
Samantha Ying (JEQ Associate Editor)
Wei Zhang (JEQ Associate Editor)
Wei Zheng (JEQ Associate Editor)
Xia Zhu-Barker (JEQ Associate Editor)
Ann Edahl (JEQ Journal Manager)
Attachment:
pdf of JEQ 2019 Editor's report
Prepared By:
Gregorich, Edward G.