Editorial

Abstract

The Journal of Ecology is delighted to announce that, with effect from the beginning of April 2004, Professor Malcolm Press has joined our Editorial Team and is working actively with the current editors on the future development of the Journal. Malcolm's appointment signals the Journal's interest in receiving more submissions in ecophysiology, tropical ecology and climate change ecology. However, we also reiterate for readers and potential authors that the Journal accepts papers on all ecological subjects that are plant related, and that have strong and original ecological messages that transcend the limits of case studies. We will continue to publish only top quality papers, but encourage submissions covering topics such as biogeochemistry, ecosystems ecology, plant–animal interactions, microbial ecology, climate change, molecular genetics and mycorrhizal ecology, in addition to the population and community ecology for which the Journal is well known. We have already expanded our international team of Associate Editors in some of these areas but, to reinforce this message, and to deal with the rapid rise in submissions received by the Journal, we will be making further Associate Editor appointments in the near future, and appointing a fourth editor in an appropriate field. By September 2004, Tony Davy will retire as Executive Editor of Journal of Ecology. Tony has been Executive Editor for six years. In addition to the steady rise in submissions during these years, the Journal has continued to publish innovative and benchmark studies, many of which maintain high citation levels long after publication. The Journal's long-standing tradition of publishing many of the classic papers in plant ecology remains in place. Analysis of data published by the Institute for Scientific Information shows that the half-life for citations of papers in Journal of Ecology exceeds 10 years. Despite the Journal having both a high Impact Factor and a high Immediacy Index, on average well over half of the eventual citations of published papers are still being accumulated more than 10 years after their publication. This demonstrates that the manuscripts we publish are of high and lasting quality, and have a permanent influence on the field. Tony also oversaw the very successful introduction of online submission to the Journal, in January 2003. We thank him for steering the Journal throughout his tenure as Executive Editor with wisdom, insight and good humour. Mike Hutchings will succeed Tony as Executive Editor. David Gibson will continue as our North American-based editor. General enquiries about prospective submissions can be directed through the most appropriate editor, but actual submission of manuscripts to the Journal must be made via the Manuscript Central site (http://britishecologicalsociety.manuscriptcentral.com), and all correspondence about manuscripts currently in the system should be directed initially to our Managing Editor, Lindsay Haddon (lindsay@britishecologicalsociety.org). During the past five years, the average length of papers published in Journal of Ecology has been reduced by 15%, enabling more papers to be published within our page limits. From Volume 93 (2005) onwards, an additional 100 pages will be published each year. We do not intend to abandon our policy of publishing longer manuscripts when the length can be justified, but repeat that the Journal also accepts shorter papers that make significant contributions. We also publish reviews of up to 12 pages in length on topical subjects, and Forum articles on recent issues, controversies, debates and novel ideas. We welcome Review and Forum contributions from authors in all fields of plant ecological research and are happy to discuss possible contributions with potential authors before submission. Our online submission service continues to result in a short handling time to first decisions for the great majority of submissions (an average of 58 days for 2003 submissions). Full statistics will be reported in a forthcoming issue of the Journal, but published papers typically appear in print within 7.5 months of submission. We are also working with Blackwell Publishing to ensure that the Journal gets maximum exposure and is read as widely as possible, both as hardcopy and in electronic form. As ever, our Editorial Office, is the anchor for the Journal's success, and will continue to aim to provide the best service to authors and referees – and thus, eventually, to our readers. To enable us to reflect the changing emphasis in our subject area, and to expand our scope, we encourage plant ecologists to choose Journal of Ecology for publication of their best work.