Another year has passed, and what a year 2020 was! For most, if not all of us, this past year was very challenging, with our normal way of life drastically altered. Despite the pandemic, our journal Invasive Plant Science and Management continued to serve as an important outlet for research findings related to invasive plant biology, ecology, impact, management, and policy. In the latter half of 2020, we successfully launched our new series Biology of Invasive Plants 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).

Our second series species account is on the perennial shrub African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum) and is scheduled to be published in issue 2 (April–June 2021) of Invasive Plant Science and Management. These reviews are intended to collate published and unpublished information on the biology and ecology of emerging plant invasion problems globally. The authors 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.

Features such as “Accepted manuscripts” and “FirstView articles” on our journal website are additional ways that we aim to disseminate research findings as quickly 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 as widely as possible. 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 continue to encourage our authors to include color figures and photos in their submissions, as there is no extra cost for their use.

Despite the pandemic, our submission numbers remained steady in 2020. Our 2019 impact factor increased to 0.905, and our 5-year IF stood at 1.218. Our manuscript acceptance rate increased to 58% in 2019 from 32% in 2018. Of importance to authors is the time frame from the original submission of a manuscript to a first editorial decision. We are extremely competitive in this regard relative to other journals, averaging 41 days to first decision in 2020.

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 have received positive feedback about this unique feature, and we will continue to promote this practical aspect of our journal. 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. In 2020, we published three review articles: (1) “The Ecological Effects of Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) Invasion: A Synthesis,” (2) “Invasive Grasses in South Texas Rangelands: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions,” and (3) “Plant Silicon as a Factor in Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) Invasion.”

Certainly, the ability to produce a high-quality and relevant 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 precious time and expertise to assure the scientific rigor and accuracy of work published in our journal in 2020. Thank you!

Editorial Board 2020

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 2020

José Ramón Arévalo

Heather Bowman Cutway

Simon Brooks

Ian C. Burke

Grant Casady

David R. Clements

Julie Coetzee

Brian Colleran

James P. Cuda

Theresa M. Culley

Kirk W. Davies

Ek del-Val

Cameron Douglass

Sarah Emery

Andrew W. Ezell

Jason Ferrell

Samuel Fuhlendorf

John F. Gaskin

Arthur Gover

Ross Guida

John Hendrickson

Hannah Hoff

Matthew Hohmann

Greg Houseman

Cynthia Huebner

Ines Ibanez

Karin Kettenring

Sara Kuebbing

Li Kui

Guy B. Kyser

Eric Lamb

Claude Lavoie

Mike J. Leahy

Erik A. Lehnhoff

Nancy Loewenstein

Gregory MacDonald

John D. Madsen

Jane Mangold

Jordan Marshall

Brian A. Mealor

Jean-Yves Meyer

Lindsey Milbrath

Thomas A. Monaco

Patrick Moran

Christopher Ray Mudge

Stephen John Novak

Timothy S. Prather

Peter Prentis

Corey V. Ransom

Leonid Rasran

Emily S. J. Rauschert

Min B. Rayamajhi

Lisa J Rew

Hilary A. Sandler

Adair Schruhl

Timothy R. Seastedt

Andy Senesac

Reid J. Smeda

Casey Spackman

Benjamin Patrick Sperry

Daniel R. Tekiela

Ludwig Triest

Alan Tye

Lance Vermeire

Carlos Villalobos

Jerry Volesky

Jeffrey Stuart Ward

Sarah Ward

Dean Williams

Nicholas Young