Well, another year has passed as we move into 2024, and I am pleased to report that our journal Invasive Plant Science and Management (IPSM) continues its important role serving as an outlet for sharing results on invasive plant biology, ecology, impact, management, and policy. Our relatively new series titled Biology of Invasive Plants continues to be of great interest to both authors and readers of our journal. I would like to remind you that this new series was launched in issue 3 (July-September) of 2020 with a 5-page editorial introducing the series by co-Series Editors (Dr. Darren Kriticos, Cervantes Agritech, Australia, and Dr. David Clements, Trinity Western University, Canada), and myself: New Biology of Invasive Plants Series launched.
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 2800 times and has been cited 14 times. During 2023, I am pleased to report that three additional Biology of Invasive Plants accounts were published with several others at various stages of development. The three accounts published include the invasive perennial swallowwort vines Vincetoxicum rossicum and V. nigrum which has been accessed nearly 1200 times; Giant reed Arundo donax which has been accessed over 1000 times; and silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium which has been accessed nearly 600 times. As a reminder these reviews are intended to collate published and unpublished information on the biology and ecology of emerging plant invasion problems globally.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. Publication of these accounts incurs no page charges and will be freely available to the public via open access.
The number of submissions (60) in 2023 increased relative to the number of submissions (40) in 2022 and (57) in 2021. Our 2022 impact factor decreased slightly to 1.1 from 1.3 in 2021 and 2020. Our 5-year impact factor decreased to 1.3 in 2022 from 1.559 and 1.347 in 2021 and 2020, respectively. It is encouraging to see the number of submissions increase again in 2023, but we would certainly like to see our impact factor trend upwards once again. As mentioned in prior editorials, I welcome a greater number of submissions to the journal and encourage all readers of this publication to consider submitting their work for possible publication in our journal and to encourage colleagues as well. We continue to seek research findings from well-designed studies on all aspects of invasive plants from all regions of the world. Note that the journal now allows submission of well-designed studies that may not be replicated in time or space. However, these submissions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Editor and Associate Editors. Reviews on relevant and timely topics of interest to our readership are also welcome. Our manuscript acceptance rate decreased slightly from 56% in 2022 to 52% in 2023. Of importance to authors is the time frame from the original submission of a manuscript to a first editorial decision. We continue to be competitive relative to other journals, averaging 41 days to first decision in 2023, a decrease from the 50 days in 2022.
We continue to feature Accepted Manuscripts and FirstView articles on our journal website to disseminate research findings as rapidly as possible to our readership. 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 wide global audience. Press releases and blogs can be found on our journal home site (IPSM Homepage press releases) as well as on the WSSA website (WSSA Press Releases). A photo related to the selected article is used as the issue cover photo. We continue to encourage our authors to include color figures and photos in their submissions as there is no extra cost for their use.
I am pleased to share with our readership that IPSM will be moving to a fully Open Access model of publication starting with the first issue in 2025. The fact that many universities and research groups have signed Read-and-Publish agreements with Cambridge University Press will most likely make publishing open access very attractive for many authors. In fact, all but one of the articles published in volume 16 (2023) were Open Access articles. Publishing articles via Open Access allows for the article to be accessed by anyone free of charge thus increasing its visibility and impact. If an author’s institution has a Read-and-Publish agreement with Cambridge University Press, the price to the author(s) for publication is substantially reduced or, in many cases, covered fully by the institution. To learn more and to see if your organization has a Read and Publish agreement, please visit Open Access - Waivers and Discounts.
We are maintaining the reputation of Invasive Plant Science and Management as a high-quality journal for research, case studies, notes, and commentary on the biology and ecology of invasive plant species as well as their environmental, economic, and regulatory impacts. Management of invasive plant species continues to be a central objective of the journal. 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. 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 2023. Thank you!
Editorial Board 2023
Jacob N. Barney
David Clements
Catherine S. Jarnevich
Elizabeth LaRue
Rob J. Richardson
John Cardina
Stephen F. Enloe
Marie Jasieniuk
James K. Leary
Mark J. Renz
Chelsea Carey
Guillaume Fried
Darren J. Kriticos
Kelly G. Lyons
Ryan M. Wersal
Invasive Plant Science and Management Reviewers 2023
Edith B. Allen
Geraldine Allen
Daniel Z. Atwater
Jacob Barney
Graeme Wayne Bourdot
Richard L. Boyce
Ian C. Burke
David R Clements
Jeffrey D. Corbin
Theresa M. Culley
Kirk W. Davies
Jeffrey F. Derr
Johanna Dicerbo
Mégane Déziel
Cameron Douglass
Stacy Endriss
Stephen F. Enloe
Christopher Evans
Marine Fernandez
Franklin Dane Panetta
Emily Fusco
John F. Gaskin
Wesley Glisson
Arthur Gover
Greta Gramig
David Grenier-Héon
Andrew Wesley Howell
Kylie Ireland
Gabrielle Katz
Raquel Kanieski
Shan Kothari
Adam Lambert
Charlotte Langlois
Daniel Larkin
Claude Lavoie
Eugene P. Law
Erik A. Lehnhoff
Nancy J. Loewenstein
Michael Mahon
Aniruddha Maity
Allison Malatesta
Salvatore S. Mangiafico
Jane Mangold
Brian McCarthy
Lindsey Milbrath
Christopher Ray Mudge
Joe Neal
Andrew Norton
Stephen John Novak
Franklin Dane Panetta
Alain Paquette
Vanessa Poirier
Candice Prince
Corey V. Ransom
Emily S. J. Rauschert
Mark J. Renz
Robert Jeryl Richardson
Wilfredo Robles
T. Todd Sartain
Steven S. Seefeldt
Ross Shackleton
Marie-Josee Simard
Melissa Smith
Benjamin Patrick Sperry
Kaisa Rissanen
Rochelle Sturtevant
Ryan A. Thum
Gray Turnage
Sarah Ward
Anna Sophia Westbrook
Dean Williams
Davia Yahia
Rafael Zenni
