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 These reviews are intended to collate published and unpublished information on the biology and ecology of emerging plant invasion problems globally.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
