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Journals in Agricultural and biological sciences

The Agricultural and Biological Sciences collection advances science-based knowledge for the improvement of animal and plant life and for secure food systems that produce nutritious, novel, sustainable foods with minimal environmental impact. Food Science titles include not only those products from agriculture but all other aspects from food production to nutrition, health and safety, chemistry to security, policy, law and regulation. Biological Sciences address animal behaviour and biodiversity, organismal and evolutionary biology, entomology, marine biology and aquaculture, plant science and forestry.

  • Flora

    • ISSN: 0367-2530
    Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of PlantsFLORA, the scientific botanical journal with the longest uninterrupted publication sequence (since 1818), considers manuscripts in a range of areas of botany which appeal to a broad international scientific readership. The journal publishes original contributions and review articles on plant structure (morphology and anatomy), plant developmental biology (ontogeny), phytogeography (including phylogeography), plant population genetics, plant functional ecology (including ecophysiology), plant population ecology, biotic interactions between plants and other organisms, plant community ecology, and ecosystem ecology. Suggestions for Special Issues are welcome, as are compilations of manuscripts (both original and review articles) for Special Features on a specific topic. Manuscripts on the following subjects are highly welcome, especially when they integrate between areas or research approaches: comparative and evolutionary aspects of morphology, anatomy and development, ecophysiology of plant species related to their distribution, mechanisms of ecological interactions in plant communities (e.g. plant-plant interactions, plant-soil feedback, and plant-animal interactions), reproductive ecology including plant-pollinator interactions, genetic and spatial structure of plant populations, and functional diversity in plant communities. Manuscripts focused on floristics or vegetation studies will only be considered if they go beyond a purely descriptive approach and have relevance for interpreting plant structure, distribution or ecology. Manuscripts whose content is restricted to taxonomy, phylogeny, nomenclature, or geobotany of local interest, or applied agricultural, horticultural, pharmacological or silvicultural aspects, or experimental studies dealing exclusively with investigations at the cellular or subcellular level will not be considered for publication.Article typesResearch article: Reporting original results of a theoretical, explorative or experimental botanical research. Typically, 6000-8000 words in length, but longer articles are also being considered, when the content justifies the extent. See formatting guidelines for the structure of the article in the manuscript preparation guidelines below.Review article: The review articles providing an up-to-date overview of a research area and/or scientific problem fitting into the scope of the journal. Review article should go further than the simple summary of published literature and should provide an in-depth analysis of the selected topic and should indicate research gaps or further directions of research. Should be drafted up to 8000 words, but longer manuscripts also being considered when the content justifies the extent. Potential authors are invited to submit an outline, abstract and list of authors first before the full submission of the manuscript.Opinion article: short pieces with a word count to 3000 words of the main text, presenting new ideas and insights, commentaries, opinion responses or new analyses to a published paper of the journal. Opinion article submissions will be assessed first by the editors and in case the topic is of broad interest of the journals potential readership will undergo regular review process for the journal. Commentaries are possible to papers published in the last 12 months in the journal and considered when they provide constructive and well-founded critiques or provide useful arguments for further development of a formerly published research idea. Opinion articles can convey new research ideas or hypotheses for discussion, and it is not necessary to support the idea with own-data-driven analyses. Opinion articles can be single-authored or multi-authored but no more than five authors. Potential authors are invited to submit an outline, abstract and list of authors first before the full submission of the manuscript.Editorial article (for editors, editorial board members and guest editors only)Humboldt Review article (by invitation only): The “Humboldt Review” article type was named after the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), who was the first describer of the phenomenon of climatic zonation of plant communities and the describer of the first plant functional types among other numerous discoveries. The “Humboldt Review” article type has been established in 2025 to honour eminent researchers in any field covered by the journal’s scope. In each year, 1-2 researchers will be selected by the chief editor(s) based on the nominations of the section editors of the journal for being invited to provide an opinion-review or synthesis paper on their field of research. The guidelines for drafting a Humboldt Review are the same as for a review paper with the exception that the review candidate should also provide a bio sketch up to 250 words and a photograph of her- or himself, which is published together with the accepted manuscript. The Humboldt Reviews are also peer-reviewed publications assessed by invited researchers for scientific rigour and quality.Submission of Papers with Graduate or Undergraduate Students as Lead Authors FLORA has initiated a section in its journal dedicated to highlighting exceptional, original research publications that are part of PhD, graduate, or undergraduate student theses and carry the name of the student, preferably as the lead author.Papers in this category will be published under the heading "Highlighted Student Research" and will be marked accordingly in the table of content of the volume in which it is published.The papers must be recommended for this honor by FLORA Handling Editors, following the normal peer review process and additionally taking the following criteria into account:the student contribution to the work is substantialinnovativ... research question or methodologyhigh quality of study / experimental design and dataabove-average quality of data analysis, presentation and discussionwell written textStudents who wish their papers to be considered for the honor have to explain in the cover letter the main reasons why the paper represents an outstanding contribution to the field, referring to the criteria above, and should indicate such a wish by marking the appropriate box as a FLORA Highlighted Student Research paper during the online submission process. The supervisor should confirm in the cover letter that research was generated during a BSc, MSc, or PhD degree.
  • Vaccine

    • ISSN: 0264-410X
    The official journal of The Japanese Society for Vaccinology.Vaccine is unique in publishing the highest quality science across all disciplines relevant to the field of vaccinology - all original article submissions across basic and clinical research, vaccine manufacturing, history, public policy, behavioral science and ethics, social sciences, safety, and many other related areas (such as passive immunization) are welcomed. The submission categories as given in the Guide for Authors indicate where we receive the most papers. Papers outside these major areas are also welcome and authors are encouraged to contact us with specific questions. We also invite authors to submit relevant basic science and clinical reviews, methodological articles, opinion and commentary pieces, visual pieces, and letters. Authors are required to consult the Guide for Authors as the submission guidelines are dynamic and therefore subject to change.Vaccine has an open access companion journal titled Vaccine: X.The Editors retain the right to desk reject submissions without peer review when it is clear that the Guide for Authors has not been consulted.
  • International Dairy Journal

    • ISSN: 0958-6946
    The International Dairy Journal publishes significant advancements in dairy science and technology in the form of research articles and critical reviews that are of relevance to the broader international dairy community. Within this scope, research on the science and technology of milk and dairy products and the nutritional and health aspects of dairy foods are included; the journal pays particular attention to applied research and its interface with the dairy industry.The journal's coverage includes the following, where directly applicable to dairy science and technology: Chemistry and physico-chemical properties of milk constituentsMicrobio... food safety, enzymology, biotechnologyProcess... and engineeringEmulsion science, food structure, and textureRaw material quality and effect on relevant productsFlavour and off-flavour developmentTechnolog... functionality and applications of dairy ingredientsSensory and consumer sciencesNutrition and substantiation of human health implications of milk components or dairy productsInternationa... Dairy Journal does not publish papers related to milk production, animal health and other aspects of on-farm milk production unless there is a clear relationship to dairy technology, human health or final product quality.
  • Process Biochemistry

    • ISSN: 1359-5113
    Process Biochemistry is an application-orientat... research journal devoted to reporting advances with originality and novelty, in the science and technology of the processes involving bioactive molecules and living organisms. These processes concern the production of useful metabolites or materials, or the removal of toxic compounds using tools and methods of current biology and engineering. Its main areas of interest include novel bioprocesses and enabling technologies (such as nanobiotechnology, tissue engineering, directed evolution, metabolic engineering, systems biology, and synthetic biology) applicable in food (nutraceutical), healthcare (medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic), energy (biofuels), environmental, and biorefinery industries and their underlying biological and engineering principles.Main topics covered include, with most of possible aspects and domains of application: • Fermentation, biochemical and bioreactor engineering • Biotechnology processes and their life science aspects • Biocatalysis, enzyme engineering and biotransformation • Downstream processing • Modeling, optimization and control techniques.Particula... aspects related to the processes, raw materials and products, also include: • Quantitative microbial physiology, stress response, signal transduction • Genetic engineering and metabolic engineering • Proteomics, functional genomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics • Chiral compounds production, cell free protein system, high-throughput screening, in-vivo/in-vitro evolution, enzyme immobilization, enzyme reaction in non-aqueous media • Mass transfer, mixing, scale-up and scale-down, bioprocess monitoring, bio-manufacturing • Cell, tissue and antibody engineering: animal and plant cells/tissues, algae, micro-algae, extremophile, antibody screening and production • Environmental biotechnology: biodegradation, bioremediation, wastewater treatment, biosorption and bioaccumulation • Bio-commodity engineering: biomass, bio-refinery, bio-energy • Bioseparation, purification, protein refolding. • Other new bioprocess and bioreactor related topics especially on application to healthcare sectors
  • Acta Oecologica

    • ISSN: 1146-609X
    Acta Oecologica is venue for the publication of original research articles in ecology. We encourage studies in all areas of ecology, including ecosystem ecology, community ecology, population ecology, conservation ecology and evolutionary ecology. There is no bias with respect to taxon, biome or geographic area. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome, but combinations are particularly sought. Priority is given to papers based on explicitly stated hypotheses. Acta Oecologica also accepts review papers.The forum section is reserved for short papers with critical discussion of current issues in ecology, as well as comments and viewpoints on previously published papers. Acta Oecologica does not publish book reviews, but comments on new books are welcome in the forum section.
  • Aquaculture

    • ISSN: 0044-8486
    The aim of Aquaculture is to publish and make available the highest quality international scientific contributions concerning to aquaculture. The Journal publishes disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary aquaculture research related to the science of aquaculture. The scope of Aquaculture includes the traditional priorities of its sections, but also includes papers from non-traditional scientific areas such as sustainability science, social-ecological systems, as well as aquaculture of various species for ornamental, conservation and restoration purposes.Original research papers and reviews with a regional context and focus, can be submitted to Aquaculture's open access companion title, Aquaculture Reports .
  • South African Journal of Botany

    • ISSN: 0254-6299
    Official Journal of the South African Association of BotanistsThe South African Journal of Botany, an international interdisciplinary journal for plant sciences, publishes original papers that deal with the classification, biodiversity, morphology, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, biotechnology, ethnobotany and other botanically related aspects of species that are of importance to southern Africa. Manuscripts dealing with significant new findings on other species of the world and general botanical principles will also be considered and are encouraged.
  • Nutrition

    • ISSN: 0899-9007
    The International Journal of Applied and Basic Nutritional SciencesFounded by Michael M. Meguid in the early 1980's, Nutrition presents advances in nutrition research and science, informs its readers on new and advancing technologies and data in clinical nutrition practice, encourages the application of outcomes research and meta-analyses to problems in patient-related nutrition; and seeks to help clarify and set the research, policy and practice agenda for nutrition science to enhance human well-being in the years ahead. Papers on nutrition-related plant or animal sciences are unlikely to be considered as they are outside the main focus of the Journal.
  • Journal of Theoretical Biology

    • ISSN: 0022-5193
    The Journal of Theoretical Biology is the leading forum for theoretical perspectives that give insight into biological processes. It covers a very wide range of topics and is of interest to biologists in many areas of research, including:• Brain and Neuroscience • Cancer Growth and Treatment • Cell Biology • Developmental Biology • Ecology • Evolution • Immunology, • Infectious and non-infectious Diseases, • Mathematical, Computational, Biophysical and Statistical Modeling • Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry • Networks and Complex Systems • Physiology • Pharmacodynamics • Animal Behavior and Game TheoryAcceptable papers are those that bear significant importance on the biology per se being presented, and not on the mathematical analysis. Papers that include some data or experimental material bearing on theory will be considered, including those that contain comparative study, statistical data analysis, mathematical proof, computer simulations, experiments, field observations, or even philosophical arguments, which are all methods to support or reject theoretical ideas. However, there should be a concerted effort to make papers intelligible to biologists in the chosen field.Whatever the topic of the paper, please note that the biological significance of the problem being studied should be clearly stated. In addition, Highlights are required for each article and they should feature the biological applications as well as any theoretical advancements.Highly speculative papers not based on current biological knowledge will not be accepted. Importantly, papers in which only mathematics is utilized, only technical mathematical results are proved, or standard statistical/bioinfor... methods are applied to existing genomic data, without new theoretical perspective or biologically novel insight will NOT be considered. The journal does not accept unsolicited review papers. Comments on theoretical issues or on papers published specifically in the Journal of Theoretical Biology are welcomed in the form of Letters to the Editors.
  • Food Policy

    • ISSN: 0306-9192
    Food Policy is a multidisciplinary journal publishing original research and novel evidence on issues in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies for the food sector in developing, transition, and advanced economies.Our main focus is on the economic and social aspect of food policy, and we prioritize empirical studies informing international food policy debates. Provided that articles make a clear and explicit contribution to food policy debates of international interest, we consider papers from any of the social sciences. Papers from other disciplines (e.g., law) will be considered only if they provide a key policy contribution, and are written in a style which is accessible to a social science readership.Policy issues that are relevant to the journal include: • Food production, trade, marketing, and consumption • Nutrition and health aspects of food systems • Food needs, entitlements, security, and aid • Food safety and quality assurance • Technological and institutional innovation affecting food systems and access • Food systems and environmental sustainabilityConcep... and methodological articles should be written so that they are accessible to the journal's diverse international readership. We normally do not publish review papers, although we might make rare exceptions for rigorous and critical reviews on topical issues.See also Elsevier's Economics Journals