Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2021
Ecology journal rankings 2021
279 ranked journals · Subfield in Environmental Science
Ecology has 279 ranked journals in 2021. The median journal has an OJR of 0.68, below the world average of 1.00, down 0.03 on 2020; Q1 starts at OJR 1.03. The top three are Global Food Security, Nature Food, and ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Environmental Science (11)
279 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Global Food SecurityElsevier BV · Netherlands | 5.02Q1 | 11.53 1.46 up from 2020 | 254 | 73% | $5,240 | ||
2Nature FoodNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 4.33Q1 | 10.04 2.16 down from 2020 | 195 | 34% | $12,690 | ||
| 4.24Q1 | 13.69 3.09 up from 2020 | 746 | 43% | $3,310 | |||
4Global Change BiologyWiley · United Kingdom | 4.17Q1 | 13.69 2.81 up from 2020 | 1,295 | 62% | $4,550 | ||
5The ISME JournalOASpringer Nature · United Kingdom | 3.62Q1 | 11.90 0.56 up from 2020 | 792 | 100% | $4,153 | ||
6Conservation LettersOAWiley · United States | 3.32Q1 | 9.70 1.00 up from 2020 | 227 | 100% | $3,550 | ||
7Methods in Ecology and EvolutionOAWiley · United States | 3.31Q1 | 8.52 0.32 up from 2020 | 549 | 73% | $3,500 | ||
8Biological ConservationElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.64Q1 | 8.12 1.35 up from 2020 | 1,237 | 54% | $3,830 | ||
9Journal of Applied EcologyWiley · United Kingdom | 2.60Q1 | 6.91 0.36 up from 2020 | 688 | 55% | $3,610 | ||
10Molecular Ecology ResourcesWiley · United Kingdom | 2.54Q1 | 9.03 1.69 up from 2020 | 431 | 56% | $5,250 | ||
11Earth Surface DynamicsOACopernicus Publications · Germany | 2.37Q1 | 6.62 1.29 up from 2020 | 183 | 100% | $1,682 | ||
12Conservation BiologyWiley · United States | 2.33Q1 | 6.27 0.83 up from 2020 | 582 | 56% | $3,400 | ||
13Environmental DNAOAWiley · United States | 2.30Q1 | 7.64 0.81 up from 2020 | 142 | 100% | $2,880 | ||
14Frontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentWiley · United States | 2.25Q1 | 6.19 1.10 up from 2020 | 415 | 55% | $3,970 | ||
15Ecological ApplicationsWiley · United States | 2.13Q1 | 6.30 1.30 up from 2020 | 543 | 54% | $3,970 | ||
16Remote Sensing in Ecology and ConservationOAWiley · United Kingdom | 2.12Q1 | 6.59 1.89 up from 2020 | 107 | 100% | $3,590 | ||
17Metabarcoding and MetagenomicsOAPensoft Publishers · Bulgaria | 2.12Q1 | 6.20 0.09 down from 2020 | 34 | 100% | $701 | ||
18Journal of Animal EcologyWiley · United Kingdom | 2.11Q1 | 5.77 1.17 up from 2020 | 584 | 59% | $3,610 | ||
19EcologyWiley · United States | 2.08Q1 | 5.53 0.80 up from 2020 | 1,017 | 46% | $3,970 | ||
20Movement EcologyOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.08Q1 | 6.01 2.15 up from 2020 | 113 | 100% | $2,790 | ||
21GIScience & Remote SensingOATaylor & Francis · United States | 1.88Q1 | 6.53 0.33 up from 2020 | 147 | 62% | $2,390 | ||
22Mammal ReviewWiley · United Kingdom | 1.85Q1 | 6.10no change | 106 | 48% | $4,100 | ||
23BiogeochemistrySpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.82Q1 | 5.00 0.21 down from 2020 | 306 | 49% | $3,390 | ||
24Frontiers in Ecology and EvolutionOAFrontiers Media · Switzerland | 1.79Q1 | 4.78 0.05 up from 2020 | 1,182 | 100% | $3,077 | ||
25Ecological InformaticsOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.70Q1 | 5.45 1.49 up from 2020 | 306 | 27% | $2,770 | ||
26Global Ecology and ConservationOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.66Q1 | 4.64 0.42 up from 2020 | 1,085 | 100% | $2,980 | ||
27Earth Surface Processes and LandformsWiley · United Kingdom | 1.65Q1 | 4.76 0.32 up from 2020 | 663 | 46% | $5,330 | ||
28NeoBiotaOAPensoft Publishers · Bulgaria | 1.64Q1 | 4.53 0.65 up from 2020 | 169 | 100% | $970 | ||
29FEMS Microbiology EcologyOAOxford University Press · Netherlands | 1.59Q1 | 4.87 0.07 down from 2020 | 694 | 47% | $3,297 | ||
30BMC EcologyOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 1.57Q1 | 3.94 0.61 up from 2020 | 180 | — | $2,290 | ||
31Biodiversity and ConservationSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.57Q1 | 4.53 0.93 up from 2020 | 583 | 45% | $3,990 | ||
32Journal of Vertebrate BiologyOACzechia | 1.55Q1 | 3.83 3.83 up from 2020 | 48 | 100% | — | ||
33Environmental MicrobiologyWiley · United Kingdom | 1.53Q1 | 5.25 0.17 up from 2020 | 1,161 | 48% | $4,640 | ||
34Ecological EngineeringElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.48Q1 | 4.45 0.02 down from 2020 | 928 | 29% | $3,910 | ||
35Coral ReefsSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.47Q1 | 5.16 1.22 up from 2020 | 366 | 31% | $4,190 | ||
36EcosystemsSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 1.45Q1 | 4.04 0.89 up from 2020 | 427 | 51% | $4,790 | ||
37Animal BiotelemetryOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 1.44Q1 | 3.60 0.21 down from 2020 | 76 | 100% | $2,390 | ||
38EcosphereOAWiley · United States | 1.43Q1 | 4.04 0.27 up from 2020 | 1,167 | 100% | $2,430 | ||
39Microbial EcologySpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 1.42Q1 | 4.14 0.29 down from 2020 | 498 | 37% | $4,590 | ||
40Annual Review of VirologyAnnual Reviews · United States | 1.42Q1 | 16.00 4.39 up from 2020 | 85 | 93% | — | ||
41Integrative Organismal BiologyOAOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 1.42Q1 | 3.52 0.78 down from 2020 | 92 | 100% | $2,134 | ||
42Restoration EcologyWiley · United States | 1.40Q1 | 4.43 0.83 up from 2020 | 550 | 35% | $3,300 | ||
43Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical SocietyWiley · United Kingdom | 1.40Q1 | 13.45 0.03 down from 2020 | 272 | 62% | $5,390 | ||
44Animal ConservationWiley · United Kingdom | 1.39Q1 | 4.21 1.07 up from 2020 | 250 | 38% | $4,430 | ||
45OecologiaSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.36Q1 | 3.53 0.14 up from 2020 | 743 | 41% | $3,790 | ||
46Royal Society Open ScienceOARoyal Society · United Kingdom | 1.32Q1 | 4.33 0.75 up from 2020 | 2,372 | 100% | $1,471 | ||
47Freshwater BiologyWiley · United Kingdom | 1.31Q1 | 3.69 0.17 up from 2020 | 502 | 46% | $4,940 | ||
48Ecology and EvolutionOAWiley · United Kingdom | 1.29Q1 | 3.49 0.19 up from 2020 | 3,281 | 100% | $2,570 | ||
49Conservation Science and PracticeOASociety for Conservation Biology · United States | 1.28Q1 | 3.96 0.97 up from 2020 | 313 | 100% | $2,240 | ||
50Urban EcosystemsSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 1.22Q1 | 3.17 0.12 down from 2020 | 335 | 32% | $3,990 |
Subfields of Environmental Science, with Ecology highlighted.
- Ecology279
- Global and Planetary Change221
- Water Science and Technology101
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis93
- Pollution58
- Nature and Landscape Conservation57
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law52
- Environmental Engineering47
- Waste Management and Disposal22
- Environmental Chemistry8
- Ecological Modeling7
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
66 additional Ecology journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 279
- Window papers (baseline)
- 114,234 +11.2% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 0.68 -11.7% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 18
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 147 | 164 | 175 | 182 | 188 | 194 | 193 | 205 | 221 | 232 | 235 | 248 | 249 | 258 | 261 | 273 | 276 | 274 | 274 | 269 | 276 | 279 | 295 | 296 | 288 | 285 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 34,254 | 41,682 | 44,762 | 49,088 | 47,455 | 50,630 | 54,383 | 60,221 | 66,252 | 72,124 | 77,093 | 82,207 | 86,067 | 90,052 | 94,017 | 98,126 | 99,678 | 101,371 | 102,738 | 106,059 | 108,848 | 114,234 | 123,053 | 131,302 | 140,427 | 146,313 | |
| Median OJR | 0.59 | 0.6292 | 0.638 | 0.6289 | 0.61 | 0.643 | 0.73 | 0.736 | 0.75 | 0.737 | 0.76 | 0.809 | 0.811 | 0.84 | 0.805 | 0.80 | 0.79 | 0.810 | 0.77 | 0.72 | 0.71 | 0.68 | 0.62 | 0.642 | 0.65 | 0.67 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.