Journal Information

Mission

PLOS Ecosystems unites diverse disciplines to advance impactful and sustainable solutions for terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems under global change. Championing open science, we foster global collaboration and innovation, deepen understanding of complex biotic and abiotic interactions, and inform pathways for resilient ecosystems.

Scope

PLOS Ecosystems is a multidisciplinary, open access journal that brings together research relevant to addressing the challenges facing our terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems and nature's contributions to people.

This selective, community-driven journal is a venue for the breadth of impactful and societally relevant research on the conservation, management, restoration, sustainability and use of ecosystems across scales. The scope of topics is therefore wide, including disciplines from both natural and social sciences, but also interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research involving policy-makers, resource managers and practitioners. We welcome research ranging from ecology and biodiversity conservation, to urban ecosystem management, clean technology and access to natural resources, to geophysical and biogeochemical processes that support ecosystems.

We publish empirical studies, field research, experimental research, remote sensing, modelling and theoretical approaches, in situ monitoring, and the development of decision-support tools such as scenarios and indicators.

PLOS Ecosystems features engaging primary Research Articles, and Reviews, Opinions, and Editorials.

Choosing a Section

Selecting a section is required for submission and will be used to assign your manuscript to an appropriate Section Editor.

Ecosystems and Land/Sea Use
Covering research on land and sea use dynamics—including agricultural and urban expansion, protected areas, and spatial planning—and their impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, or conservation outcomes.

Ecosystems and Climate
Covering research on the effects of climate change, natural hazards, and climate variability on ecosystems and biodiversity, including adaptation, vulnerability, resilience, and ecosystem–climate feedbacks. This includes development of mitigation strategies, including climate-ready crops, carbon capture for ecosystem protection and nature-based solutions.

Ecosystems and Pollution
Covering research on pollution and contamination—including plastics, heavy metals, chemicals and nutrients—and their impacts on and mitigation strategies for ecosystem health, biodiversity, and ecological integrity. This includes research using a lens of industrial ecology and life cycle assessment.

Sustainable Use of Biodiversity
Covering research on the sustainable use and management of biodiversity and natural resources, including sustainable fishing and forestry, community-based conservation, nature-based solutions, and traditional ecological knowledge.

Social-Ecological Interactions
Covering research on human–nature relationships, governance, and participatory management in social–ecological systems, including human–wildlife interactions, resilience, and sustainability.

Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Covering research on biodiversity and conservation in terrestrial ecosystems—including forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains, and tundra—along with restoration, reforestation, and sustainable management.

Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Covering research on biodiversity, conservation, and restoration in marine, coastal, and freshwater ecosystems—including coral reefs, wetlands, seagrasses, mangroves, rivers, and lakes—under changing environmental conditions.

Ecosystem Functions and Benefits
Covering research on ecosystem functions and services, including nutrient cycling, biogeochemical processes-inclusive of interactions with soil and water bodies-and ecosystem modeling, with emphasis on resilience, biodiversity, and responses to environmental change and the benefits of nature to people.

Criteria for Publication

To be considered for publication in PLOS Ecosystems, any given manuscript must satisfy the following criteria:

Originality
High importance and broad interest to the community of researchers, practitioners, policy or decision makers working in fields relevant to ecosystems
High methodological rigor and ethical standards
Substantial evidence for its conclusions
Clearly outlined utility and accessibility for the broader community
Follow appropriate standards and practice of open science

Consideration of complementary research

Scientists commonly refer to research as “scooped” when independent groups working on the same topic reach similar conclusions and one group publishes the results first. Although originality is one criterion for studies published in PLOS Ecosystems, “scooped” manuscripts that confirm, replicate, extend, or are complementary to a recently published, significant advance are still eligible for consideration in PLOS Ecosystems. The complementary manuscript must present equally or more rigorous findings than the published study and any submission must also meet the criteria for publication listed above. Authors of the complementary work have six months after the first article’s publication date to submit their manuscript to PLOS Ecosystems. Studies must be performed comprehensively, and preliminary placeholder studies will not be considered.

Editorial Oversight

PLOS Ecosystems is run by an international Editorial Board, headed by the Editor-in-Chief.

Editor-in-Chief

Henrique Miguel Pereira

Editorial Board

View the PLOS Ecosystems Editorial Board.

Submit Your Manuscript

For more information about submitting to PLOS Ecosystems, read our guidelines for preparing a submission.

Publication Fees

PLOS employs several business models to support equitable Open Access. A full list of our publication fees, funding initiatives and fee assistance information is available here.

Open Access

PLOS applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to works we publish. Under this license, authors agree to make articles legally available for reuse, without permission or fees, for virtually any purpose. Anyone may copy, distribute, or reuse these articles, as long as the author and original source are properly cited. Learn more.

Journal and Article Metrics

All of our journals have a range of metrics available, including Article-Level Metrics (ALMs), SJR, CiteScore, and h-index. We do not consider Impact Factor to be a reliable or useful metric to assess the performance of individual articles but will provide the metric to individuals when specifically requested. Metrics for all of our journals, including publication timings and acceptance rates are available here.

Indexing and Archiving

To ensure research is widely accessible and discoverable, PLOS submits all of our titles to major indexing services for evaluation as soon as possible according to the schedule of the specific service. Once PLOS Ecosystems begins publishing content, we’ll update this page to show where the journal is currently indexed, and which servers we’re continuing to work with.

See publishing details for all PLOS journal titles, including ISSN and indexing and archiving information.

PLOS

PLOS is a non-profit organization on a mission to drive open science forward with measurable, meaningful change in research publishing, policy, and practice. We believe in a better future where science is open to all, for all.

Contact

Visit the Contact page for details about whom to contact with different queries.