ACS - Journal of Environmental Quality Editorial Board (ACS324.1)
2011 Annual Report
ACS324.1 JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EDITORIAL BOARD (2011 Annual Report)
The JEQ Editorial Board meeting was held on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, from 10 am-12 pm at the Long Beach Convention Center, First Floor, Room 103B, in Long Beach CA.
Present at the meeting were:
Warren Dick, ASA Editor-in-Chief
Sally Logsdon, SSSA Editor-in-Chief
Dennis Corwin, Editor
Ann Edahl, Managing Editor
Mark Mandelbaum, Director of Publications
Brett Holte, Managing Submissions Services
Ian Popkewitz, Director of IT and Operations
Andrew Sharpley, Environmental Issues/Environmental Perspectives Editor
Technical Editors: Baoshan Xing, Scott Yates, Tim Clough, Rory Maguire, Enzo Lombi
Associate Editors: Hui Li, Andrey Guber, Phil Gassman, Minghua Zhang, Carl Bolster, Nathan Nelson, Doug Smith, Paul DeLaune, Gary Feyereisen, Soren Petersen, Gurpal Toor
Comments from the Editor—Dennis Corwin
Editorial Board Update. Editor Dennis Corwin congratulated the Editorial Board for the consistent improvement in the timeliness of handling manuscripts, thanked retiring Associate Editors (AEs) for their service to JEQ as well as thanking the entire Editorial Board, and welcomed the newly appointed AEs. Technical Editor Magdi Selim will retire on Dec. 31, 2011, after serving 6 years as a TE. Technical Editor Scott Yates who has served 4 years will move into Magdi’s TE slot and Robert Dungan, a newly appointed TE, will fill Scott Yates’ vacated TE slot. Rory Maguire and Enzo Lombi have accepted second 3-year terms as Technical Editors. Associate Editors who voluntarily terminated their appointment prior to its completion include Denis Angers (2 years of AE service), Joshua McGrath (2 years), Chad Penn (4 years), James Jawitz (4.5 years), and John Schmidt (5 years). Associate Editors retiring after one term are Erik Smolders, Philippe Vidon, Xiying Hao, Mahdi Al-Kaisi, Mark Chappell, Damian Lawler, and Gary Feyereisen; and after two terms are Ron Constanje, Rainer Schulin, Fien Degryse, Kenneth Sajwan, Peter Kleinman, Jose-Julio Oreta-Calvo, Rai Kookana, Ali Sadeghi. Associate Editors appointed for a second term include Pierre-Andre Jacinthe, Joselito Arocena, Andrew Tye, Cynthia Grant, Brent Robinson, Hao Zhang, Peter Holm, Daniel Kaplan, Gurpal Toor, Doug Smith, Antonio Delgado, Tsutomu Ohno, Cesar Plaza, Lakhwinder Hundal, Hui Li, Sue Newman, Rob Malone, Chris Stamm. Newly appointed AEs include Benedict Okeke, John Paul Brooks, April Leytem, Michelle Soupir, Claudia Wagner Riddle, Amy Townsend-Small, Kurt Spokas, Steve Del Grosso, Jake Beaulieu, Richard Stehouwer, Scott Young, Tracy Punshon, Markus Gräfe, Gerwin Koopmans, and Kang Xia. Appreciation was expressed to the AEs who are leaving the JEQ Editorial Board. Their time and effort are greatly appreciated. Thanks were given to the AEs who have accepted a second term. Newly appointed AEs were welcomed to the JEQ Editorial Board..
The Editor expressed concern about the low turnout of AEs at the 2010 JEQ Editorial Board Meeting, with less than 15% of JEQ’s AEs in attendance. Annual Editorial Board Meetings give AEs and Technical Editors (TEs) the only opportunity to meet as a group, which is vital for maintaining consistency in the handling of manuscripts and understanding current editorial policy. The poor turnout was attributed to the poor economy resulting in reduced funds for travel.
Managing Editor's Report—Ann Edahl
Production
A summary of papers published, total pages, and article length for 2011 compared with previous volumes is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of papers published in JEQ.
Contribution | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
Reviews and Analyses | 8 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 9 |
Technical Reports | 128 | 179 | 225 | 167 | 171 |
Environmental Issues | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
Short Communications | 6 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 11 |
Special Sections | 63 | 30 | 9 | 64 | 13 |
Letters/Replies | – | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Book Reviews | 9 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 22 |
Total pages | 1998 | 2215 | 2480 | 2408 | 1930 |
| Average length per article | ||||
Reviews and Analyses | 11.9 | 12.0 | 16 | 10.9 | 11.1 |
Technical Reports | 9.3 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 10.0 |
Environmental Issues | 9 | 8 | 12 | 9.9 | 6.2 |
Short Communications | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.2 |
Special Sections | 9.0 | 9.8 | 11 | 10.3 | 9.1 |
Mobile App
SoilCropAgronPubs, a mobile app, will be released in the last quarter of 2011. It allows the user to search and view ASA, CSSA, and SSSA content based on their subscription or by purchasing from their smart phone or tablet. It is free and is available on the Apple App Store, Blackberry App World, and Android Market. Features will include saved searches, My Favorites (where you can save articles), My Pubs (will show the publications you subscribe to), and an open access button to view the current open access articles. Books will be included in the app.
JEQ New Articles
A publish ahead of print workflow that was implemented in 2010 is being reviewed, and we are exploring a continuous publication option where single articles will be posted online and be fully searchable. The format would be in html and pdf.
Color Figures
Beginning in 2012, images that are submitted in color will appear in color on the online version by default. Authors will still need to request color for the print version, at a cost of $250 per page of color.
Online Usage Statistics
Table 2 shows the online usage statistics from January to May 2010.
Table 2. Online JEQ usage statistics in 2011 (January–August).†
Year | Abstract | Full text (HTML) | |
2011 Jan.–Aug. | 121,326 | 154,645 | 112,035 |
2011 Jan.–May† | 51,997 | 122,526 | 62,046 |
2010 Jan.–May | 309,850 | 207,198 | 173,648 |
† Excludes crawlers.
Journal Finances—Mark Mandelbaum, Publications Director
Through August 2011, JEQ expenses and revenues are performing close to budget and are very close to 2010 actual results. Some publication expenses are slightly higher than last year but are offset by higher revenues as well as lower expenses in other areas. I project overall 2011 performance to be very close to budgeted levels.
Table 3 shows three-year subscription count histories for both members and nonmembers. The drop in print Member/Nonmember subscriptions is a concern and we will investigate the causes and suggest corrective action where appropriate. Financially, the drop in print subscriptions is partially offset by increase in electronic subscriptions. NOTE: Member subscriptions are based on anniversary of membership; nonmember subscriptions are calendar-based.
Table 3. Summary of subscribers for JEQ.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
JEQ Member-Electronic | 176 | 215 | 160 |
JEQ Member-Electronic+Year-End CD | 222 | 224 | 185 |
JEQ-Member-Print | 313 | 241 | 194 |
JEQ-Member-Print+Year-end CD | 99 | 70 | 58 |
JEQ-Member-Print+Electronic | 84 | 79 | 56 |
JEQ-Member-Print+Electronic+CD | 46 | 41 | 29 |
JEQ Year-End CD | 50 | 46 | 40 |
JEQ Nonmember-Electronic | 140 | 297 | 328 |
JEQ Nonmember-Electronic+Year-End CD |
| 1 | 1 |
JEQ-Nonmember-Print | 368 | 316 | 276 |
JEQ-nonmember-Print+Electronic | 87 | 139 | 124 |
JEQ-Nonmember-Print+Electronic+CD | 1 | 3 | 2 |
2010 Public Relations Summary
The Societies’ Public Relations program is managed by our Science Communications Department (James Giese and Sara Uttech) that taps the author-submitted interpretive summaries for several vehicles: “Feature” story and “Research Highlights” area on each homepage, rotating through the journals: www.agronomy.org, www.crops.org, www.soils.org; Social Media outreach (RSS Feeds, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and YouTube); and CSA News and Crops & Soils Feature stories and Society Science summaries.
For the Journal of Environmental Quality, the following News Releases were posted, highlighting JEQ published research:
- Assessing Agroforestry's Advantages
- Wastewater Treatment Lowers Pathogen Levels
- Drinking Recycled Water?
- Identifying Factors in Atrazine’s Reduced Weed Control
- Could Oysters Be Used to Clean up Chesapeake Bay?
- Measuring Methane
- Nitrogen Cycling and Anaerobic Lagoons
- Can Biochar Help Suppress Greenhouse Gases?
- Manure Runoff Depends on Soil Texture
- How Plants Absorb Pollutants
- Improve Crop Yield by Removing Manure Solids
- Cost Effective Manure Management
- New Strategy Aims to Reduce Agricultural Ammonia
- Climate Change Could Impact Livestock Production
- Toxic Compounds in Groundwater
- Analyzing Agroforestry Management
- Implications of Sewage Sludge
- Grazing Management Effects on Stream Pollutants
- Linking Dissolved and Particulate Phosphorus Export in Rivers Draining California’s Central Valley with Anthropogenic Sources at the Regional Scale
- Fertilizer Source and Tillage Effects on Yield-Scaled Nitrous Oxide Emissions in a Corn Cropping System
Also for the Journal of Environmental Quality, the following Research Summaries were featured in CSA News:
- Understanding Sources of Organic Carbon to Drinking Water
- Enhanced Atrazine Degradation Occurs throughout Northeastern Colorado
- Quantifying the Nutrient Removal Capacity of Aquacultured Oysters
- Manure Application Methods Affect Environmental Sustainability
- Anaerobic Lagoons and Nitrogen Cycling
- Agroforestry Systems Reduce Nitrate Leaching
- Tracking Phosphorus Losses in the Mississippi River Basin
- Manure Application Technology in Reduced Tillage and Forage Systems: A Review
- Field Olfactometry Assessment of Dairy Manure Land Application Methods
- Environmental and Economic Comparisons of Manure Application Methods in Farming Systems
- Advanced in situ Spectroscopic Techniques and Their Applications in Environmental Biogeochemistry
- Cobalt Distribution and Speciation: Effect of Aging, Intermittent Submergence, In Situ Rice Roots
- X-ray Microspectroscopy and Chemical Reactions in Soil Microsites
- Salinity Management Using an Anionic Polymer in a Pecan Field with Calcareous–Sodic Soil
- Researchers Study Pesticide Pathways into the Atmosphere
- How Dairy Farms Contribute to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Pesticide Risk Mitigation by Vegetated Treatment Systems: A Meta-Analysis
- Daily, Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Ammonia Emissions from Southern High Plains Cattle Feedyards
- Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Wastewater Treatment and Water Reclamation Plants in Southern California
- Reducing Herbicides and Veterinary Antibiotics Losses from Agroecosystems Using Vegetative Buffers
- Agroforestry Buffers for Nonpoint Source Pollution Reductions from Agricultural Watersheds
- Agroforestry Systems and Environmental Quality: Introduction
As of September 2011, a total of 70 news releases were written and distributed through two online services, EurekAlert and Newswise, and our own Website and Social Media outlets. These News Releases highlighted research from our journals, as well as announcements for our books, awards, science policy office, position statements, and Annual Meetings. Sara also fielded dozens of media inquiries, many as a result of these news releases, from the Wall Street Journal, The Furrow, Voice of America News, The Why Files, Farm Progress, National Geographic News, National Public Radio, Nature Magazine, Science Magazine, Associated Press, Reuters, AgriMarketing, among others. In addition to distributing news releases, Sara works directly with public information officers to write and distribute press releases, these include: American Geological Institute, USDA–ARS, USDA–NRCS, Plant Management Network, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, CAST, Iowa State, Purdue, and others.
Headquarters Staff
Contacts include Ann Edahl, managing editor (aedahl@sciencesocieties.org), Mark Mandelbaum (mmandelbaum@sciencesocieties.org), Meg Ipsen, editorial assistant (mipsen@sciencesocieties.org), and Brett Holte, submissions manager (bholte@sciencesocieties.org). I am pleased to announce that Mark Mandelbaum began as our new Publications Director in July 2011. We at headquarters welcome Mark and look forward to implementing his plans for a digital library.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dennis Corwin, editor, the technical editors, and associate editors for all your hard work and dedication.
Ann Edahl, Managing Editor, Journal of Environmental Quality
Comments from the Editor – Dennis L. Corwin
Status of Manuscripts and Summary of Published Papers.
The number of papers submitted to JEQ as of Dec. 27, 2011, was 480. This compares to 549 submitted in 2010, 517 in 2009, 534 in 2008, 674 in 2007, 496 in 2006, 487 in 2005, 485 in 2004, and 455 in 2003. The number of submissions in 2011 decreased by about 13% from 2010 submissions, which is a reflection of the poor economy and reduced funds available to research scientists to publish in journals with page charges. Of the 480 submissions approximately 8% were released by the Editor without detailed review for various reasons (e.g., unsuitable condition, inappropriate topic, lack of novelty).
The acceptance rate increased slightly from 37.7% in 2009 to 38.9% in 2010. The acceptance rate has been below 40% since 2009. It is too soon to determine the 2011 acceptance rate. This is the first time the acceptance rate has fallen below 40% and reflects the continued effort by the JEQ Editorial Board to consider and publish only the highest caliber papers through a more rigorous evaluation of the novelty and potential scientific impact of submitted papers. Prior to 2009 the acceptance rate fluctuated between 40-50%. The values are 43% in 2001, 49% in 2002, 45% in 2003, 48.4% in 2004, 49.9% in 2005, 43.9% in 2006, and 44.6% in 2007. The data are insufficient to provide an acceptance rate for 2010 as many papers submitted in 2010 are still in review. The 5-year acceptance rate from Jan. 1, 2005 to the present is 43.2%.
Special Collections of Papers, Review Papers, Environmental Issues Papers, and Book Reviews.
Special collections of papers consisting largely of symposia proceedings have become an important part of the journal and the JEQ Editor is constantly looking for proposals related to publication of special collections. Papers published for special collections are reviewed in the same way as volunteered papers. The purpose is to keep the quality of these papers at a high level. Special collections have gone in cycles in the past with 2 special collections of 14 papers in 2007, 5 special collections of 65 papers in 2008, 1 special collection of 9 papers in 2009, 4 special collections of 30 papers in 2010, and 6 special collections of 63 papers in 2011.
Aside from symposia, another source of special collection papers is the JEQ Technical Editors. The current policy requires each Technical Editor appointed by Editor Dennis Corwin to organize a special collection of papers in their area of expertise. This has resulted in 5 special collections organized by the Technical Editors, all of which cover timely, interesting topics and are of the highest caliber. The titles of the Technical Editor special collections (and associated organizers and year of publication or expected publication) are: Biochar and the Nitrogen Cycle (Tim Clough; 2010), Occurrences of Nanomaterials and their Behavior, Fate, and Ecological Effects (Greg Lowry, Baoshan Xing, Joel Pedersen, Emily Bernhardt, Dion Dionysiou, and Mark Weisner; 2010), Agricultural Air Quality (Scott Yates; 2011), Advanced Spectroscopy Applications in Environmental Biogeochemistry (Enzo Lombi, Ganga Hettierachchi, Kirk Scheckel; 2011), and Novel Manure Management Technologies in No-Till and Forage Systems (Rory Maguire, Douglas B. Beegle, and Peter Kleinman; 2011). Additional special collections published in 2011 include Agroforestry Systems and Environmental Quality (Scott Chang, Vimala Nair, Khasa, Damase Khasa and John Kort), Non-point Source Pollution, Environmental Quality and Ecosystem Health in China (Zhang and Xu), and Integrated Solutions to the Soil and Agri-Environmental Challenges Facing China in the 21st Century (Sims and Zhang). Five special collections are expected in 2012 include Environmental Standards for Agricultural Watersheds (Patricia Chambers and Joseph Culp), Riparian Buffers Strips as a Multifunctional Management Tool in Agricultural Landscapes (Marc Stutter, Brian Kronvang, and Wim Chardon), Environmental Benefits of Biochar (Jim Ippolito, Warren Busscher, and David Laird), Applications of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) (Phil Gassman, Raghavan Srinivasan, and Ali Sadeghi), and Emerging Technologies to Remove Phosphorus from Surface and Ground Waters (Anthony Buda, Gerwin Koopmans, Ray Bryant, and Wim Chardon). Proposed special collections include: Water Reuse (Clinton Williams and Jay Gan), Evaluation of Phosphorus Indices: Twenty Years of Science and Development (Nathan Nelson and Amy Shober), Environmental Impacts of FGD Gypsum in Agricultural Systems (Dexter Watts and Warren Dick), and Application of Proximal Sensors to Environmental Quality Problems (Dennis Corwin).
Review papers are another important aspect of the journal that the JEQ Editor is constantly trying to attract to JEQ since reviews are often highly cited papers. Seven reviews were published in 2011. This does not include the 1-2 reviews that are associated with each special collection of papers.
Book Review submissions have steadily dropped since the peak in 2004. One of the strengths of JEQ has been its book review section and emphasis will continue to be placed on obtaining good quality book reviews. The Editorial Board is congratulated for their willingness to provide a number of book reviews. A total of 9 book reviews were published in 2011, compared to 11 in 2010, 20 in 2009, 21 in 2008, 22 in 2007, 27 in 2006, 30 in 2005, 54 in 2004, and 27 in 2003. Dr. Andrew Sharpley is the associate editor in charge of book reviews and has been encouraged to return book review submissions to their previous high levels. Dr. Sharpley asked the Board for suggestions for names of people to review books.
Environmental Issues papers have also floundered with only 1 environmental issues paper in 2011 and 4 in 2010. This is an area of concern by the Editor, especially since an Environmental Issues and Environmental Perspectives Editor was appointed in 2009, with no visible improvement in the quality and quantity of these papers. Dr. Sharpley indicated at the meeting that invited Environmental Issues papers often do not ‘pan out’ since authors commit but do not follow up on their commitment. Suggestions from the floor included (i) fast-tracking the Environmental Issues papers, (ii) reducing page charges for these papers, (iii) using a point-counter-point system of opposing views on ‘hot topics’ to motivate authors to develop papers. In addition, Dr. Warren Dick indicated that a special committee was being formed to solicit review and environmental issues papers for the various Tri-society journals. Dr. Dick requested volunteers for the committee and suggested that the Editor select from among the volunteers to represent JEQ. Dr. Rory Maguire and Dr. Scott Yates were selected as potential candidates for Dr. Dick to consider for the committee.
Subject Matter Categories.
Papers have been published under specified subject matter categories since the first issue of 1991. The titles of subject matter categories can change periodically and several new categories were started in 1999. Two new categories were added at the end of 2011 entitled “Environmental Microbiology” and “Environmental Models, Modules, and Datasets” the category of “Urban Pollutants” was added in 2010, and the category of “Remote Sensing and Environmental Degradation” was added in 2008. Even though only 6 papers appear as submissions for the category of “Environmental Microbiology” for 2011, twenty-three papers submitted in 2011 would have fallen into this category if it had been available to submitting authors the entire year of 2011. Environmental microbiology and urban pollutants are categories that are likely to show substantial growth in submissions in the coming years.
Aside from papers for special collections, the category of Surface Water Quality remains as the top category for published and submitted papers (see Table 4). Surface Water Quality is followed by Waste Management in second, Atmospheric Pollutants & Trace Gases in third, Heavy Metals in foruth, and with Organic Compounds in the Environment in fifth. Since 2006 the submissions for Atmospheric Pollutants & Trace Gases, Heavy Metals in the Environment, Surface Water Quality, and Waste Management have been the highest; while Ecological Risk Assessment and Ecosystem Restoration have been consistently low. It is anticipated that submissions will remain high for Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases, Heavy Metals in the Environment, Surface Water Quality, and Waste Management. It is anticipated that submissions in the newly formed categories of Remote Sensing of Environmental Degradation and Urban Pollutants will take time to build, but the new category of Environmental Microbiology is expected to be in the top five categories in 2012.
Table 4. Summary of papers by category. Summary of number of technical papers published in each subject matter category from 2002 to 2011. Papers published as part of a special collection of papers are not included nor are Environmental Issues and Reviews & Analyses papers. Papers in parentheses are number of papers submitted.
Category | Vol 40 2011 | Vol 39 2010 | Vol 38 2009 | Vol 37 2008 | Vol 36 2007 | Vol 35 2006 | Vol 34 2005 | Vol 33 2004 | Vol. 32 2003 | Vol. 31 2002 |
Reviews | 7(7) | 3(18) |
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Environmental Issues | 1(6) | 4(13) |
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Special Collections | 63(95) | 30(107) |
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Short Communications | 6(10) | 3(25) |
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Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases | 21(41) | 14(46) | 18(38) | 14(39)
| 5(47) | 14(38) | 14(15) | 11 | 16 | 18 |
Biodegradation and Bioremediation | 6(7) | 5(17) | 7(17) | 7(12)
| 10(31) | 6(28) | 12(12) | 12 | 17 | 9 |
Ecological Risk Assessment | 1(6) | 5(4) | 3(6) | 11(6) | 6(12) | 3(13) | 13(9) | 8 | 7 | 10 |
Ecosystem Restoration | 3(7) | 2(9) | 8(7) | 6(17) | 3(16) | 3(10) | 3(4) | 5 | 9 | 6 |
Ground Water Quality | 5(29) | 13(19) | 8(23) | 9(22) | 6(40) | 11(22) | 9(12) | 7 | 15 | 6 |
Heavy Metals in the Environment | 12(34) | 14(39) | 16(56) | 14(56) | 19(55) | 23(58) | 19(29) | 31 | 37 | 25 |
Landscape and Watershed Processes | 8(16) | 15(20) | 12(28) | 21(31) | 11(55) | 16(30) | 15(18) | 9 | 19 | 21 |
Organic Compounds in the Environment | 13(36) | 17(41) | 18(33) | 24(42) | 12(43) | 19(34) | 21(26) | 30 | 26 | 22 |
Plant and Environment Interactions | 1(16) | 5(14) | 8(22) | 14(36) | 9(29) | 8(26) | 5(14) | 11 | 18 | 16 |
Surface Water Quality | 29(65) | 43(84) | 44(82) | 28(89) | 33(81) | 39(74) | 34(33) | 35 | 37 | 24 |
Urban Pollutants | 3(10) | 0(7) |
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Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical Transport | 4(17) | 11(20) | 9(27) | 14(20) | 8(25) | 9(24) | 8(9) | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Waste Management | 19(51) | 25(55) | 31(61) | 29(76) | 36(80) | 47(70) | 28(42) | 47 | 30 | 20 |
Wetlands and Aquatic Processes | 3(15) | 8(9) | 9(21) | 10(24) | 12(26) | 11(33) | 17(12) | 10 | 12 | 12 |
Remote Sensing and Environmental Degradation | 0(3) | 2(2) | 4(14) | 2(2) |
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Environmental Microbiology | 0(6) |
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0(1) |
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JEQ Impact Factor
Dennis Corwin presented the following data on the JEQ Impact Factor (see Table 5):
Table 5. JEQ journal rankings 1997-2010, Environmental Science category.
Year | Total Cites (rank) | Impact Factor (rank) | No. Citeable Items (rank) |
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1997 | 4147 (8) | 2.069 (9) | 214 (13) |
1998 | 4836 (9) | 2.145 (10) | 195 (14) |
1999 | 5433 (9) | 2.357 (7) | 248 (11) |
2000 | 5434 (10) | 1.485 (23) | 249 (11) |
2001 | 5407 (12) | 1.155 (47) | 122 (33) |
2002 | 6891 (11) | 1.868 (17) | 199 (16) |
2003 | 7815 (11) | 1.682 (28) | 266 (14) |
2004 | 7937 (12 | 1.617 (33) | 255 (15) |
2005 | 8939 (12) | 2.121 (24) | 238 (18) |
2006 | 9829 (11) | 2.272 (29 of 144) | 252 (19) |
2007 2008 |
11128(17) | 2.331 (34 of 160) 2.098 (49 of 163) | 206 285 |
2009 2010 | 12391 (17) 12002 (18) | 2.291 (55 of 179) 2.236 (56 of 193) | 248 (28) 218 (33)
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JEQ’s impact factor (IF) for 2010 is 2.236 (56th of 193 journals), which is lower than the IF for 2009 of 2.291 (55th out of 179 journals), but higher than the IF for 2008 of 2.098 (49th out of 163 journals). JEQ fell slightly in ranking (from 55th to 56th) and remains in the second quartile for the third year in a row. JEQ’s IF is nearly the same as in 1999 when JEQ was ranked 7th, which indicates the high level of competition amongst international environmental science journals. Over the past few years JEQ has maintained an IF of from 2.2-2.3, but during this time other environmental journals have increased their IFs significantly while JEQ stays nearly the same.
JEQ’s IF places it at the 29th percentile, which makes it an internationally respected environmental science journal. Even so, the JEQ Editorial Board has taken a number of actions over the past four years to deal with the gradual drop in ranking: (i) appointment of an EI/EP Editor to attract high impact papers (reviews, hot topics, controversial topics, etc.), (ii) steady improvement in the timeliness of review (e.g., added AEs to lessen workload, shortened review deadlines, improved reviewer database based on authors submitting papers to JEQ), (iii) solicitation of special collections of papers on timely topics (biochar, nanotechnology, environmental challenges in China, remote sensing of environmental degradation, agricultural air quality & others), (iv) more review papers have been solicited thru special collections, and (v) the release of papers with low novelty that are likely seldom cited (acceptance rate has decreased to 38.9.7%, which is the second lowest in JEQ history). In addition, other recommendations are under consideration that will either directly or indirectly influence the IF: (i) process special collections of papers more quickly to assure citations appear as part of IF, (ii) getting papers on the web as soon they are accepted, (iii) continue to actively pursue special collections of papers, and (iv) increasing the number of invitations by the Editor to scientists conducting research on highly cited topics.
Last year at the 2009 JEQ Editorial Board Meeting a mandatory 8000-word limit was proposed for all original research papers and was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2011. The mandatory 8000-word limit was proposed as a means of attracting readers to JEQ papers since it was suggested that short papers tend to be read and cited more often. However, feedback from authors throughout 2010 unanimously indicated displeasure in this change in policy; consequently, the 8000-word limit was presented for open discussion at the 2010 Editorial Board Meeting. Increased use of supplemental electronic information was recommended as a means around the imposition of a word limit. The lack of a quorum resulted in no decision being made. Subsequently, the Editor delayed the 8000-word limit for further consideration until a vote by the entire JEQ Editorial Board was taken by e-mail ballot in early 2011. A vote by the JEQ Editorial Board revealed that a mandatory 8000-word limit was declined.
The Editor will continue to attract high quality papers to JEQ in an effort to raise the IF by (i) the solicitation of review papers prepared by established, highly respected scientists and (ii) the solicitation of special collections of papers on timely topics.
Manuscript Tracker Update
JEQ has required all manuscripts to be submitted electronically since January 1, 2004. The use of Manuscript Tracker has helped to improve review times (see Table 6), although a concerted effort by AEs to stay current with their manuscripts has also improved timeliness. Over the past three years, the Editorial Board was strongly encouraged by the Editor to process manuscripts in a timely and efficient manner. Overall, the Editorial Board has done an excellent job in improving the timeliness of reviewing and evaluating manuscripts submitted to JEQ. Table 6 shows a summary of a time analysis report for JEQ from 2007-2010, showing a constant improvement in the handling of manuscripts at every stage of the review and evaluation process. The AEs and TEs were commended by the Editor for their diligence and effort.
Table 6. JEQ time analysis 2008-2011, as of December 27, 2011.
Measure | ----------------------- Year ------------------------- | |||
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011** |
| -------- Average Number of Days -------- | |||
Editor to TE | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
TE to AE | 5.0 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
AE assign reviewer | 19.9 | 19.4 | 17.2 | 14.6 |
Days with reviewer | 31.9 | 30.8 | 31.7 | 29.5 |
Days to release* | 64.0 | 54.4 | 51.2 | 48.3 |
First recommendation of revision* | 80.3 | 76.1 | 73.5 | 68.5 |
Days in revision | 42.5 | 36.9 | 29.2 | 25.5 |
Days to final decision* | 107.4 | 98.6 | 91.0 | 72.7 |
* Calculated from date manuscript received by Editor to the date measure take.
The 2011 numbers are preliminary and will change as the remaining 2011 papers work their way through the system, particularly the days to release and days to final decision since they are not calculated until the Editor’s final decision. Even if 2011 is disregarded, the time period from 2008-2010 shows steady improvement in the processing times at each stage. TEs and AEs are commended on their consistent improvement in the processing of manuscripts.
To help improve the efficiency of handling manuscripts, the following suggested changes to ManuscriptTracker were made by the Editorial Board during the meeting: (i) add a checklist to the front page to ManuscriptTracker indicating what the author needs before starting the submission process (a list is already provided at http://www.manuscripttracker.com/ver2/helpauthor.asp?journal=jeq1&mode=author, but a highly visible short checklist is needed before starting the submission), (ii) have a separate area for abstract submission to allow potential reviewers to view abstract, (iii) change the reviewer form so there are separate areas for general and specific comments, (iv) copy AEs on all automated e-mail reminders sent to the authors, (v) as compensation to reviewers, each reviewer is given a pdf file of the published paper that they reviewed, which also increases the likelihood of the paper being cited by the reviewer, (vi) reviewer access to other reviewer’s comments, (vii) automated e-mail notifying a reviewer that their review is not needed once an AE has made their recommendation, (viii) AE report card showing the timeliness and workload of each AE: days to assign minimum of 2 reviewers, days with reviewers, days to first revision, days to make a recommendation, total time with AE, and (ix) inclusion of the final decision for a manuscript in the thank you letter to the reviewers.
JEQ Author Survey Results
A survey was developed early in 2004 to obtain feedback on the performance of all society journals. Authors are given the opportunity to respond to the survey when they receive final word on the disposition of their papers. Tables 7 and 8 summarize the 2010 results from authors of accepted and rejected papers, respectively. Relatively few responses from authors of rejected papers have been obtained, so the data for Table 8 must be viewed with some caution.
Table 7. 2011 Survey Results from Accepted Papers (n=54(75)); collected Oct. 7, 2011). SA = strongly agree, A = agree, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree. 2010 survey results are in parentheses.
Query | SA | A | D | SD |
| ----- % of responses ----- | |||
My manuscript was edited in a timely fashion | 52 (45) | 46 (45) | 0 (7) | 2 (3) |
The reviewers were technically competent | 63 (55) | 33 (43) | 4 (1) | 0 (1) |
The reviewers’ comments were helpful | 74 (61) | 26 (37) | 0 (0) | 0 (2) |
The reviewers’ comments were respectful | 67 (60) | 30 (37) | 2 (0) | 2 (3) |
The AE or TE provided clear instructions for revisions | 85 (76) | 15 (21) | 0 (2) | 0 (1) |
The quality of editing was comparable to non-society journals | 58 (64) | 42 (32) | 0 (3) | 0 (1) |
Manuscript Tracker accommodated the review process | 57 (64) | 39 (34) | 4 (0) | 0 (2) |
Would you recommend JEQ to a colleague? 100% (100%) Yes; 0% (0%) No
Membership of corresponding authors:
ASA 26% (24%); CSSA 7% (11%); SSSA 31% (35%); Non-member 63% (64%)
Table 8. 2011 Survey Results from Rejected Papers (n=9(6)). SA = strongly agree, A = agree, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree. 2010 survey results are in parentheses. 70% of responses were positive.
Query | SA | A | D | SD |
| ----- % of responses ----- | |||
My manuscript was edited in a timely fashion | 0 (17) | 78 (33) | 11 (17) | 11 (33) |
The reviewers were technically competent | 11 (67) | 56 (17) | 33 (0) | 0 (17) |
The reviewers’ comments were helpful | 22 (67) | 56 (17) | 22 (17) | 0 (0) |
The reviewers’ comments were respectful | 12 (60) | 62 (20) | 12 (0) | 12 (20) |
The AE or TE provided clear instructions for revisions | 25 (0) | 25 (25) | 25 (50) | 25 (25) |
The quality of editing was comparable to non-society journals | 0 (0) | 62 (33) | 25 (33) | 12 (33) |
Manuscript Tracker accommodated the review process | 50 (0) | 25 (67) | 0 (33) | 25 (0) |
Would you recommend JEQ to a colleague? 57% (67%) Yes; 43% (33%) No
Membership of corresponding authors:
ASA 22% (17%); CSSA 22% (0%); SSSA 22% (33%); Non-member 78% (67%)
The 2011 survey and general survey comments by authors indicate that the quality of JEQ’s editing is superior to the norm and that AEs and TEs need to maintain their high level of efficiency in processing all manuscript since a few manuscripts that get neglected can harm our overall stellar performance. This information was passed to the AEs and TEs by the Editor.
Digital Library
Mark Mandelbaum provided a Power Point presentation on the proposed Digital Library. The primary goal is a full-text digital library, including books, which will include author bibliography pages with clickable references; search results would be across all society content; a “tabbed” or guided navigation. The Digital Library can save searches in a virtual binder that can be sent to colleagues/students (e.g., as a syllabus) and will include third-party publications’ metadata and full text via arrangements with other societies and publishers.
Needs a single, integrated taxonomy of key words; classify all items under this taxonomy, resulting in greater precision in searchers. Staff, volunteers, librarians will do this. The Digital Library will be provided to members at low cost or free. The benefits will be increased online exposure, which should result in new members from increased international exposure; online first articles that will be fully searchable and citable. Significant revenue is expected from library consortia, government agencies, and corporate R&D departments. Additionally, having everything, including books, available and fully searchable, will lead to greater innovation and discovery.
Comments by Editors-in-Chief
Sally Logsdon, SSSA Editor-in-Chief, made a request for volunteers for digital library taxonomy development to look at draft of list that will be created by an outside firm. Soils volunteers are set, but ther3e is a need for names in the areas of agronomy and crops to give to Warren Dick. Sally reminded the JEQ Editorial Board that a new official appeals process was in place, which consists of a first appeal to the Editor and a second (and final) appeal to the Editor-in-Chief. Sally also pointed out the importance of capturing the research content from the annual ASA-CSSA-SSSA Meetings through review and special collection papers. Sally indicated that JEQ is already good at this and to keep up the good work.
Warren Dick ASA Editor-in-Chief asked all journals for continued emphasis on reviews and issue papers and pointed out that JEQ was very good at this. The Editors-in-Chief are putting together a special committee across all societies to focus on soliciting reviews, issues, and special collections papers. The committee will meet on a regular basis. Warren requested a JEQ person to be a part of this group. Warren asked the JEQ Editorial Board to keep an eye out for ideas for themed issues. Warren also indicated that the Editors-in-Chief were looking into the publication of databases in our journals. Warren asked for suggestions for a particular JEQ paper that might be good for such testing. As a follow-up to Warren’s request, the Editor and one of the Technical Editors of JEQ will be formulating the evaluation policy for modeling, module, and datasets submitted to JEQ for publication. A regional-scale environmental modeling paper submitted to JEQ in December of 2011has been selected by the Editor as the first manuscript to test the evaluation policy.
ManuscriptTracker Update
The following changes have been made to ManuscriptTracker over the past year: (1) a checklist was added to the front page of MT indicating what the author needs before starting submission, (2) a separate area in MT was added for the abstract, (3) an abstract is now provided in the letter of invitation, (4) AEs are now copied on all automated e-mail reminders to authors, and (5) JEQ now actively screens for plagiarism.
Items still working on: (1) a notice will be added to the Instructions to Authors that papers submitted to JEQ are screened for plagiarism, (2) automated e-mail notifying reviewer that review is not needed, (3) an automated e-mail to reviewers after a papers acceptance or rejection, (4) AE report card on timeliness and workload, (3) inclusion of final decision in thank you e-mail to reviewers.
Instructions to Authors Update
Recent changes to Instructions to Authors: (1) now states that JEQ prefers manuscript to be <8000 words, (2) abstract structure defined, (3) 200-word conclusion appears as a sub-heading under Discussion or final paragraph of Discussion section. Changes to be added include: (1) notification of screening for plagiarism and (2) explanation of appeals process.
Reminders to AEs and TEs
- AEs are responsible for editing out inappropriate and disrespectful comments by reviewers and for making certain that a reviewer’s identity remains anonymous.
- Timeliness is still number the #1 complaint by authors.
- Paper length: use of supplemental electronic information to reduce paper length
- Proper abstract structure: ‘mini-manuscript’ with introduction (justification for conducting study), objective, methods, significant results, discussion, and conclusion. 250-word limit.
- Well-structured introduction includes: (a) rationale/justification for conducting the study and/or a hypothesis, (b) findings of others that will be further developed or challenged, and (c) explicitly stated objectives.
- Use of SI units only. Common non-SI units used: ppm, ppb, meq/100 g, % (e.g., % moisture, % OM or % sand-silt-clay), normality, μg/g.
- AEs and TEs should identify high caliber papers for press releases & outstanding paper for each issue
- AEs please provide a thorough rationale for the release of a manuscript and what can be done to bring the manuscript up to JEQ standards.
- MT automated reminders include: (a) reviewers every 30 d, (b) authors – 45 d (30 days with a 15 day grace period) to return revised manuscripts, (c) TE – 14 d to assign an AE, (iv) AE – 14 d to assign reviewer, (d) AE – 90 d after submission to make recommendation or 7 d after 2nd review received.
- If there are problems with automated e-mails reaching authors and reviewers then instruct the author or reviewer to designate the ManuscriptTracker site as OK in Junk folder or screened e-mail area. AEs should follow up using personal e-mail or telephone call to make sure automated e-mails are received.
Announcements
Dennis Corwin reminded the Editorial Board to submit nominations for the Editor’s Excellence in Review Awards. Six Outstanding Reviewer awards will be given out for 2011 in addition six Outstanding Associate Editor Awards will be given. Nominations for Outstanding Reviewer are made by the AEs while nominations for Outstanding Associate Editor are submitted by the TEs. Technical Editors were reminded of the Mentored Associate Editor program, which was initiated in 2008 by the Editor to appoint young scientists to the JEQ Editorial Board that have recently obtained their Ph.D. (within the past 5 years) and have demonstrated tremendous potential. The intention of this program is to attract the best young scientists to the JEQ Editorial Board at an early point in their career so they can be mentored by a TE to serve JEQ and to contribute their future research to JEQ. Candidates for the Mentored AE program were requested.
Final Note
Overall JEQ is an internationally respected environmental journal that has maintained an extremely high level of quality, which is the result of the tremendous effort and ability of the JEQ Editorial Board. The success of JEQ is in large part due to the conscientious and diligent efforts of the JEQ Technical Editors, Associate Editors, and ASA-CSSA-SSSA staff. The Editor and Managing Editor thank all members of the JEQ Editorial Board and ASA-CSSA-SSSA staff for their efforts in keeping JEQ among the premier international environmental journals.
Meeting was adjourned at noon.
Dennis L. Corwin, Editor, and Ann Edahl, Managing Editor.
Items Requiring Board Attention:
Members of the Committee:
Ellen Bergfeld (Member, Ex Officio)
Sally Logsdon (SSSA Editor-in-Chief)
Warren Dick (ASA Editor-in-Chief)
E. Charles Brummer (CSSA Editor-in-Chief)
Dennis Corwin (JEQ Editor)
Timothy Clough (JEQ Technical Editor)
Enzo Lombi (JEQ Technical Editor)
Rory Maguire (JEQ Technical Editor)
H. Magdi Selim (JEQ Technical Editor)
Baoshan Xing (JEQ Technical Editor)
Scott Yates (JEQ Technical Editor)
Mahdi Al-Kaisi (JEQ Associate Editor)
Barbara Amon (JEQ Associate Editor)
Denis Angers (JEQ Associate Editor)
Joselito Arocena (JEQ Associate Editor)
Pierre Benoit (JEQ Associate Editor)
Carl Bolster (JEQ Associate Editor)
Barbara Cade-Menun (JEQ Associate Editor)
Carlo Calfapietra (JEQ Associate Editor)
Martin Chantigny (JEQ Associate Editor)
Mark Chappell (JEQ Associate Editor)
Robert Cook (JEQ Associate Editor)
Ronald Corstanje (JEQ Associate Editor)
Fien Degryse (JEQ Associate Editor)
Paul DeLaune (JEQ Associate Editor)
Antonio Delgado (JEQ Associate Editor)
Robert Dungan (JEQ Associate Editor)
Gregory Evanylo (JEQ Associate Editor)
Gary Feyereisen (JEQ Associate Editor)
Garey Fox (JEQ Associate Editor)
Philip Gassman (JEQ Associate Editor)
Keith Goyne (JEQ Associate Editor)
Cynthia Grant (JEQ Associate Editor)
Christopher Green (JEQ Associate Editor)
Andrey Guber (JEQ Associate Editor)
Mingxin Guo (JEQ Associate Editor)
Xiying Hao (JEQ Associate Editor)
Philip Haygarth (JEQ Associate Editor)
Goswin Heckrath (JEQ Associate Editor)
Peter Holm (JEQ Associate Editor)
Lakhwinder Hundal (JEQ Associate Editor)
Abasiofiok Ibekwe (JEQ Associate Editor)
James Ippolito (JEQ Associate Editor)
Pierre-Andre Jacinthe (JEQ Associate Editor)
James Jawitz (JEQ Associate Editor)
Daniel Kaplan (JEQ Associate Editor)
K.G. Karthikeyan (JEQ Associate Editor)
Peter Kleinman (JEQ Associate Editor)
Katharine Knowlton (JEQ Associate Editor)
Rai Kookana (JEQ Associate Editor)
Joseph Kozak (JEQ Associate Editor)
Kuldip Kumar (JEQ Associate Editor)
Damian Lawler (JEQ Associate Editor)
Hui Li (JEQ Associate Editor)
Robert Malone (JEQ Associate Editor)
Sean McGinn (JEQ Associate Editor)
Joshua McGrath (JEQ Associate Editor)
Jim Miller (JEQ Associate Editor)
David Nash (JEQ Associate Editor)
Bryant Nelson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Nathan Nelson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Susan Newman (JEQ Associate Editor)
Tsutomu Ohno (JEQ Associate Editor)
Jose-Julio Ortega-Calvo (JEQ Associate Editor)
Chad Penn (JEQ Associate Editor)
Soren Petersen (JEQ Associate Editor)
Joseph Pignatello (JEQ Associate Editor)
Cesar Plaza (JEQ Associate Editor)
Pamela Rice (JEQ Associate Editor)
Brett Robinson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Ali Sadeghi (JEQ Associate Editor)
Kenneth Sajwan (JEQ Associate Editor)
Geraldine Sarret (JEQ Associate Editor)
John Schmidt (JEQ Associate Editor)
Rainer Schulin (JEQ Associate Editor)
Amy Shober (JEQ Associate Editor)
Myrna Simpson (JEQ Associate Editor)
Douglas Smith (JEQ Associate Editor)
Erik Smolders (JEQ Associate Editor)
Raghavan Srinivasan (JEQ Associate Editor)
Christian Stamm (JEQ Associate Editor)
Gurpal Toor (JEQ Associate Editor)
Ed Topp (JEQ Associate Editor)
Andrew Tye (JEQ Associate Editor)
Peter Vadas (JEQ Associate Editor)
Jan Willem van Groenigen (JEQ Associate Editor)
Rodney Venterea (JEQ Associate Editor)
Philippe Vidon (JEQ Associate Editor)
Hao Zhang (JEQ Associate Editor)
Minghua Zhang (JEQ Associate Editor)
Dongqiang Zhu (JEQ Associate Editor)
Andrew Sharpley (JEQ Book Review Editor)
Andrew Sharpley (JEQ Environmental Issues/Perspectives Editor)
Ann Edahl (JEQ Journal Manager)
Attachment:
2011 JEQ Editorial Board Meeting Minutes (PDF)
Prepared By:
Corwin, Dennis L.