1. Publication Scope

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation mainly publishes research articles, brief reports, and high-level reviews which showcase advancements from both international and domestic frontiers in soil and water conservation and related fields. It emphasizes new concepts, notable achievements, and recent progress in these fields. The journal predominantly publishes research findings on topics such as soil and water conservation, ecological security, soil erosion, water-sediment changes, water-soil processes, land consolidation, vegetation restoration, ecological services, karst rocky desertification, mountain disaster prevention and control, agricultural water-saving, green development, etc.

2. Aims

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation places a strong emphasis on the quality of its articles, and prioritizes the social benefits they can create. It aims to report the latest scientific research achievements, explore new theories, methods, and developments, and focus on innovative, cutting-edge, and exploratory research findings within the field of soil and water conservation and related disciplines. The journal actively promotes academic exchanges, discipline development, technological progress, and talent cultivation to better serve the cause of soil and water conservation in China.

3. Submission Method

This journal adopts an online submission system. Authors can log in to the official website of the journal (http://stbcxb.alljournal.com.cn/stbcxben/home), click on "Author Login", and register to submit their manuscripts (registered users can directly submit after logging in).

4. Review Process

This journal adopts a double-blind peer review system, and the acceptance rate is about 20% to 25%. After receiving the manuscript, the editorial department will send a manuscript receipt. The editorial department will first conduct an initial review of the manuscript. For manuscripts that lack originality, involve academic misconduct, have serious scientific or technical deficiencies, lack valuable information, or do not meet the scope of the journal, the editorial department will reject them.

After the manuscript passes the initial review, the editorial department will invite appropriate expert reviewers to conduct peer reviews of the manuscript. In the peer review process, the manuscript will be sent to 2 reviewers. If there are differences in the opinions (acceptance/rejection/revision) provided by the two reviewers, the editorial department would invite a third reviewer for further review, and the responsible editor of the manuscript will decide how to handle the manuscript and determine the final review opinion. The final review opinion (acceptance/rejection/revision) will be forwarded to the corresponding author. The author must respond to each review comment and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process will be repeated until the reviewers and the responsible editor are satisfied with the manuscript.

Authors can check the status of their manuscripts through the submission system after 1-2 months of submission. If no review comments or acceptance notices are received after 3 months of submission, the author will have the right to submit the article to another journal, provided that the author notifies the editorial department in advance. Two complimentary copies of the journal will be given to the author for each published article. The editorial department may make necessary editorial changes, technical processing, and content deletions to the accepted manuscripts.

Note: For submissions from the editorial board members and editors of this journal, they must also follow all the review and editing procedures of this journal. All review work on their manuscripts will be conducted independently, separate from the relevant editorial board members, editors, and their research teams. Editorial board members and editors are prohibited from participating in the review, editing, and acceptance decisions of articles written by individuals with whom they have competition, cooperation, or other related competing interests.

5. Academic Misconduct Detection

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation only accepts original articles that have not been submitted to other journals or previously published. Submitted articles must not contain any plagiarized content. If the author uses materials that overlap with others, all necessary permissions must be obtained and properly indicated in the manuscript.

The editorial department conducts checks on all manuscripts for issues such as duplicate submissions, multiple submissions, and plagiarism to prevent academic misconduct. During the initial review stage, the editorial department employs the Wanfang Plagiarism Detection System to check the manuscript. For accepted articles, the "Academic Misconduct Literature Detection System (AMLC)" provided by CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) will be used again for further detection.

If any academic misconduct is detected at any stage, the journal will reject the manuscript. For serious cases (such as intentional multiple submissions), the journal will no longer accept submissions from the author and will notify the author's institution and other relevant journals.

6. Appeal

If authors have objections against the review comments, they can file an appeal. Authors should write an "Appeal Letter" stating the manuscript serial number and send it to the journal's email at stbcxb@nwsuaf.edu.cn. The letter needs to provide detailed reasons for the appeal, including a comprehensive and reasonable explanation responding to the review comments, and it must be stamped by the author's institution for validation. The editorial department will decide whether to accept the appeal as appropriate.

7. Post-publication Discussions

We warmly welcome authors and readers to participate in discussions on our published articles. Comments can be sent to the journal's email at stbcxb@nwsuaf.edu.cn. The editorial department will handle them promptly and provide feedback as necessary. Furthermore, the journal actively encourages readers and authors to engage in mutual supervision and offer feedback on pertinent information, aiming to cultivate a vibrant and positive academic environment.

8. Data Sharing

Authors are encouraged to share research data under appropriate circumstances. Data sharing plays a crucial role in facilitating the replication of scientific experiments and the reuse of research data. Generally, shareable data encompasses raw data, observation records, experimental results, and so forth. Additionally, the journal emphasizes the importance of authors sharing related research software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods, and other valuable materials. Authors are encouraged upload such materials to accessible third-party storage platforms and provide corresponding links at the end of their articles.

9. Correction & Retraction Policy

Once an article is published online or in print, it is considered the final version, and requests for corrections or retractions are generally not accepted. However, under necessary circumstances, the journal may make corrections or retract an article:

- Correction: If there are unintentional scientific errors within the article that do not significantly impact the results and conclusions, the editorial department will publish a correction notice in the journal, detailing the changes made to the original text and citing the source of the article. The journal will release a corrected version of the article, clearly explaining the modifications made to the original article and indicating the date of the update. The previous version will also be archived and accessible to readers. When citing, it is recommended to refer to the latest version of the article.

- Retraction: The editorial department may retract an article under the following circumstances:

1) When severe scientific errors are identified within an article, making its results and conclusions unreliable.

2) Articles suspected of academic misconduct such as plagiarism or data fabrication, prompt the editorial department to initiate an investigation. In such cases, a statement will be published to inform readers of the risks associated with the article. The investigation results will be made public. If academic misconduct is confirmed, the editorial department will proceed with retraction and issue a retraction notice.

10. Digital Archiving

To ensure the utmost data security, all information is backed up by the editorial department. Both the print and electronic versions of each issue are archived at the editorial department. Additionally, all relevant materials provided by authors during manuscript submission, including additional information and forms, are also securely stored in our archives.

In addition to self-storage on the journal's website, the journal employs a multi-faceted approach to store articles published in the journal. Full-text data of these articles is archived on reputable platforms such as CNKI, Wanfang, Chaoxing, Chongqing VIP, and Bokan. This ensures wider accessibility and long-term preservation of the research findings.

Furthermore, authors are allowed to store all versions of their articles in institutions or other knowledge repositories of their choice. When storing the article in a different institution or repository, it is essential to indicate the standardized journal publication information in the metadata. This practice allows for proper citation and acknowledge of the original publication.

By implementing comprehensive archiving practices, both internally and through external platforms, we strive to guarantee the longevity, accessibility, and scholarly recognition of the research published in the journal.

11. Fee Information

The journal charges review fee and Article Processing Charge (APC) for articles accepted for publication, and will not charge any fee for manuscripts that do not pass peer review (i.e., manuscripts which are rejected). The standard of review fee is CNY 400 per article; the standard of APC is CNY 350 per page for the first 8 pages, and CNY 400 per page for those exceeding 8 pages. The printing fee for color plate production is not charged.

In terms of copyright transfer, the remuneration paid to the authors by the journal already covers the transfer fee. No additional payment will be made for the copyright transfer.