Another year has come and gone with the pandemic still dominating much our daily and professional lives in 2021. For many of us, 2021 remained challenging on numerous fronts, but as we move into 2022, we are hopeful of returning to some pre-pandemic normalcy, if possible. Even with all the challenges, our journal Invasive Plant Science and Management continues to serve its role as an important outlet for sharing results on invasive plant biology, ecology, impact, management, and policy. Our new series Biology of Invasive Plants continues to be of great interest to both authors and readers of our journal. Recall that this new series was launched in issue 3 (July–September) of 2020 with a five-page editorial introducing the series by co-Series Editors (Darren Kriticos, CSIRO, Australia, and David Clements, Trinity Western University, Canada) and me. The first species account was published in the same issue and focused on the invasive evergreen shrub, firethorn (Pyracantha angustifolia). To date, this account has been accessed nearly 1,500 times and is increasingly cited in published articles. In 2021, our second species account was published in issue 2 (April–June) of Invasive Plant Science and Management. The article focused on the perennial shrub, African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum). This account has been accessed nearly 600 times since its publication. There are currently seven additional species accounts being developed, with several to be published in 2022. As a reminder, these reviews are intended to collate published and unpublished information on the biology and ecology of emerging plant invasion problems globally. They assemble background material to lay a foundation reference source concerning the biology and ecology of the focal species. However, they go further, highlighting invasion risks and their management. The Biology of Invasive Plants series is intended to provide a useful resource for a broad range of readers, including biologists, ecologists, risk assessors, and policy advisors. The global nature of plant invasion risk means that the series appeals to a global audience. To defray some of the publication costs for these accounts, authors will receive a 50% page-cost reduction from Cambridge University Press.
We continue to feature “Accepted manuscripts” and “FirstView articles” on our journal website to disseminate research findings to our readership as rapidly as possible. In each issue, we also select one article for which we develop a professional press release and blog so that the research can be highlighted and distributed to a global audience. Press releases and blogs can be found on our journal home site as well as on the WSSA home page. A photo related to the selected article is used as the issue cover photo. We encourage our authors to include color figures and photos in their submissions, as there is no extra cost for their use. In 2021, 39% of articles in Invasive Plant Science and Management were published Open Access, a substantial increase from the 13.5% of articles published Open Access in 2020. Publishing articles via Open Access allows for the article to be accessed by anyone free of charge, thus increasing its visibility and likely impact.
The number of submissions (59) in 2021 increased slightly relative to the number of submissions (54) in 2020. Our 2020 impact factor increased markedly (40.7%) from 0.905 in 2020 to 1.273 in 2021. Our 5-year impact factor stood at 1.347. I should note however that this past year there was a change in the way the impact factor was calculated, and this change resulted in a general increase in the annual impact factor for most journals. Nonetheless, this increase was certainly also due to the high-quality submissions and rigorous review process.
Our manuscript acceptance rate dropped slightly from 59% in 2020 to 54% in 2021. Of importance to authors is the time frame from the original submission of a manuscript to a first editorial decision. We are very competitive in this regard relative to other journals, averaging 40 days to first decision in 2021.
We continue to build the reputation of Invasive Plant Science and Management as a high-quality journal for research and case studies on the biology and ecology of invasive plant species as well as their impacts and management. In each article, we feature a “Management Implications” section that provides a succinct summary of the key management implications of the research that may be ready for adoption by land managers and other practitioners. We continue to receive positive feedback about this unique feature and will continue to promote this practical aspect of our journal. As always, we seek research findings from well-designed studies on all aspects of invasive plants from all regions of the world. Reviews on relevant and timely topics of interest to our readership are also welcome.
Undoubtedly, the ability to produce a high-quality and impactful journal would not be possible without the assistance of the many reviewers and editorial board of Invasive Plant Science and Management who gave of their time and expertise to assure the scientific rigor and accuracy of work published in our journal in 2021. Thank you!
Editorial Board 2021
Edith B. Allen
Jacob N. Barney
John Cardina
Stephen F. Enloe
Songlin Fei
Guillaume Fried
Catherine S. Jarnevich
Marie Jasieniuk
Darren J. Kriticos
James K. Leary
Kelly G. Lyons
Rob J. Richardson
Steve S. Seefeldt
Ryan M. Wersal
Invasive Plant Science and Management Reviewers 2021
Scott Abella
Subodh Adhikari
Daniel Z. Atwater
Sven Bacher
Jacob Barney
Graeme W. Bourdot
Bethany Bradley
Graham Brodie
Carrie Brown-Lima
Bryan Lee Celeste
David R. Clements
Jeffrey D. Corbin
Mark Davis
Cameron Douglass
Stephen F. Enloe
Christopher Evans
Steven A. Fennimore
Samuel Fuhlendorf
Amy Ganguli
Elise S. Gornish
Greta Gramig
Kerry Harrington
Ines Ibanez
Stephen Johnson
Sabrina Kumschick
Guy B. Kyser
Nancy J. Loewenstein
Jane Mangold
Glenn Matlack
Brian A. Mealor
Mohsen B. Mesgaran
Lindsey Milbrath
Thomas A. Monaco
Jeff Mosley
Christopher R. Mudge
Stephen John Novak
Dennis Calvin Odero
Franklin Dane Panetta
Lora Perkins
Timothy S. Prather
Candice Prince
Satu Ramula
Emily S. J. Rauschert
Mark J. Renz
Robert J. Richardson
Wilfredo Robles
Vikki L. Rodgers
Michael Schuster
Hanno Seebens
Andy Senesac
Casey Spackman
Matt Tanco
Sarah Ward
Robert J. Warren II
Samantha Willden
Dean Williams
Gabriela Woźniak
Catherine Zabinski
Lewis H. Ziska
