Source: AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE submitted to NRP
EDITOR OF JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Sponsoring Institution
Agricultural Research Service/USDA
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0413102
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2008
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2012
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
(N/A)
RIVERSIDE,CA 92507
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
(N/A)
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
30%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1010110200030%
1030120200020%
1010210200050%
Goals / Objectives
Serve in a scientific review capacity as the Editor of ASA-CSSA-SSSA¿s Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) and head of the JEQ Editorial Board, overseeing and reviewing the technical quality and scientific soundness of research that focuses on aspects of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Editorial Board serves as a mechanism to evaluate the experimental design, methodology, analysis of results, and conclusions of research to assure its quality and reliability
Project Methods
The Editor is responsible for establishing journal policy and for overseeing the technical and intellectual content and quality of the journal. The Editor directs the work of technical editors (TEs) and associate editors (AEs) in reviewing and evaluating the worthiness of manuscripts submitted to the JEQ. The Editor is responsible for defining the journal¿s aims, policies, and editorial coverage, and in recruiting members for the Editorial Board. The Editor delegates to TEs the responsibility of assigning manuscripts to AEs to obtain reviews from qualified peer scientists and making the final decision whether to accept or reject the paper. The Editor directly oversees the work of the TEs who are responsible for overseeing the work of the AEs. The Editor has the overall responsibility for determining that in-depth and timely reviews are obtained by the Editorial Board members and for maintaining the professional integrity of the review process. Documents Trust with American Society of Agronomy. Log 35586.

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/12

Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416): Serve in a scientific review capacity as the Editor of ASA-CSSA-SSSA�s Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) and head of the JEQ Editorial Board, overseeing and reviewing the technical quality and scientific soundness of research that focuses on aspects of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Editorial Board serves as a mechanism to evaluate the experimental design, methodology, analysis of results, and conclusions of research to assure its quality and reliability Approach (from AD-416): The Editor is responsible for establishing journal policy and for overseeing the technical and intellectual content and quality of the journal. The Editor directs the work of technical editors (TEs) and associate editors (AEs) in reviewing and evaluating the worthiness of manuscripts submitted to the JEQ. The Editor is responsible for defining the journal�s aims, policies, and editorial coverage, and in recruiting members for the Editorial Board. The Editor delegates to TEs the responsibility of assigning manuscripts to AEs to obtain reviews from qualified peer scientists and making the final decision whether to accept or reject the paper. The Editor directly oversees the work of the TEs who are responsible for overseeing the work of the AEs. The Editor has the overall responsibility for determining that in-depth and timely reviews are obtained by the Editorial Board members and for maintaining the professional integrity of the review process. Documents Trust with American Society of Agronomy. Log 35586. This is the final report for this project. Over the past year, 507 manuscripts were submitted for consideration in the Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) of which 37.3% were accepted for publication. Six special collections of papers were published comprised of 63 papers. There are currently 9 special collections of papers in various stages of development. Additional policy and organizational changes were devised and implemented to improve the impact factor including improvements in JEQ�s online manuscript tracking system; attracting high quality special collections of papers with 6 special collections in 2011, 5 in 2012, and 4 expected in 2013; and solicitation of quality review papers. The 2012 impact factor of 2.353 is an increase from last year�s (i.e., 2011) impact factor of 2.324 and represents a new all-time high impact factor for JEQ. This increase in impact factor is in spite of high page charges, which were in place until January 1, 2013. The relationship of this subordinate project with the main �in-house� project on degraded water reuse is exposure to state-of-the-art research and the latest trends and techniques, which can be incorporated into the main project to make a significant advancement to our understanding in this specific research area. A considerable number of papers submitted to JEQ fall in the area of environmental impacts of degraded water reuse. Serving in the role of Editor of JEQ provides exposure to state-of-the- art research on the impacts of degraded water reuse, which provides a clear awareness of the knowledge gaps and the latest advances, making it possible to stay at the forefront in this research area. Manuscript status is handled through JEQ�s on-line manuscript tracking system, Manuscript Central. Manuscript Central allows immediate access and evaluation of the progress of each manuscript by the Editor, Techincal Editors (TEs), Assistant Editors (AEs), Editor-in-Chief, and American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) , and Soil Science Society of America (SSA) Headquarters staff (JEQ Managing Editor and JEQ Financial Officer) along with up-to-date summary report access. Teleconference calls between Editor-in-Chief, JEQ Managing Editor, Financial Office, and TEs were arranged to provide progress reports and to discuss policy and management changes. A mail server is in place as a means of exchanging ideas and communicating amongst the 100+ members of the JEQ Editorial Board. The mail server provides an open forum to discuss problems and concerns, maintain procedural consistency, and notify the entire editorial board of policy changes. A TE Meeting and General JEQ Editorial Board Meeting are held each year at the ASA-CSSA- SSSA Meetings, which bring the TEs, AEs, and staff together to discuss the annual progress report, new appointments and staff changes, budget, editorial policy changes, activities to improve the impact factor, concerns and issues.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications


    Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12

    Outputs
    Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416): Serve in a scientific review capacity as the Editor of ASA-CSSA-SSSA�s Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) and head of the JEQ Editorial Board, overseeing and reviewing the technical quality and scientific soundness of research that focuses on aspects of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Editorial Board serves as a mechanism to evaluate the experimental design, methodology, analysis of results, and conclusions of research to assure its quality and reliability Approach (from AD-416): The Editor is responsible for establishing journal policy and for overseeing the technical and intellectual content and quality of the journal. The Editor directs the work of technical editors (TEs) and associate editors (AEs) in reviewing and evaluating the worthiness of manuscripts submitted to the JEQ. The Editor is responsible for defining the journal�s aims, policies, and editorial coverage, and in recruiting members for the Editorial Board. The Editor delegates to TEs the responsibility of assigning manuscripts to AEs to obtain reviews from qualified peer scientists and making the final decision whether to accept or reject the paper. The Editor directly oversees the work of the TEs who are responsible for overseeing the work of the AEs. The Editor has the overall responsibility for determining that in-depth and timely reviews are obtained by the Editorial Board members and for maintaining the professional integrity of the review process. Over the past year 477 manuscripts were submitted for consideration in the Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) of which 41.1% were accepted for publication. Six special collections of papers were published comprised of 63 papers. There are currently 14 special collections of papers in various stages of development. Additional policy and organizational changes were devised and implemented in an effort to improve the impact factor including increased focus on attracting review and environmental issues papers; increased efficiency of handling manuscripts; regular teleconference calls with Editor-in-Chief, ASA-CSSA- SSSA staff, and TEs; improvements in JEQ�s online manuscript tracking system; and addition of more AEs. The greatest effort to improve the impact factor has been to attract high quality special collections of papers with a substantial increase in special collection papers over last few years, increasing from 9 papers two years ago to 30 papers last year and 63 special collection papers published last year. The current impact factor of 2.324 is an increase from last year�s of 2.236 and represents a new all-time high impact factor for JEQ. The relationship of this subordinate project with the main 'in-house' project on degraded water reuse is exposure to state-of-the-art research and the latest trends and techniques, which can be incorporated into the main project to make a significant advancement to our understanding in this specific research area. A considerable number of papers submitted to JEQ fall in the area of environmental impacts of degraded water reuse. Serving in the role of Editor of JEQ provides exposure to state-of-the- art research on the impacts of degraded water reuse, which provides a clear awareness of the knowledge gaps and the latest advances, making it possible to stay at the forefront in this research area. Monitoring of all progress is most effectively handled through JEQ�s on- line manuscript tracking system, ManuscriptTracker. ManuscriptTracker allows immediate access and evaluation of the progress of each manuscript by the Editor, TEs, AEs, Editor-in-Chief, and ASA-CSSA-SSSA Headquarters staff (JEQ Managing Editor and JEQ Financial Officer) along with up-to- date summary report access. Teleconference calls every 4 months between Editor-in-Chief, JEQ Managing Editor, Financial Office, and TEs were arranged to provide progress reports and to discuss policy and management changes. A mail server is in place as a means of exchanging ideas and communicating amongst the 100+ members of the JEQ Editorial Board. The mail server provides an open forum to discuss problems and concerns, maintain procedural consistency, and notify the entire editorial board of policy changes. A TE Meeting and General JEQ Editorial Board Meeting are held each year at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Meetings, which bring the TEs, AEs, and staff together to discuss the annual progress report, new appointments and staff changes, budget, editorial policy changes, activities to improve the impact factor, concerns and issues.

    Impacts
    (N/A)

    Publications


      Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11

      Outputs
      Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) Serve in a scientific review capacity as the Editor of ASA-CSSA-SSSA�s Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) and head of the JEQ Editorial Board, overseeing and reviewing the technical quality and scientific soundness of research that focuses on aspects of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Editorial Board serves as a mechanism to evaluate the experimental design, methodology, analysis of results, and conclusions of research to assure its quality and reliability Approach (from AD-416) The Editor is responsible for establishing journal policy and for overseeing the technical and intellectual content and quality of the journal. The Editor directs the work of technical editors (TEs) and associate editors (AEs) in reviewing and evaluating the worthiness of manuscripts submitted to the JEQ. The Editor is responsible for defining the journal�s aims, policies, and editorial coverage, and in recruiting members for the Editorial Board. The Editor delegates to TEs the responsibility of assigning manuscripts to AEs to obtain reviews from qualified peer scientists and making the final decision whether to accept or reject the paper. The Editor directly oversees the work of the TEs who are responsible for overseeing the work of the AEs. The Editor has the overall responsibility for determining that in-depth and timely reviews are obtained by the Editorial Board members and for maintaining the professional integrity of the review process. Over the past year 552 manuscripts were submitted for consideration in the Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) of which 38.5% were accepted for publication. Four special collections of papers were published comprised of 30 papers. There are currently 14 special collections of papers in various stages of development. Additional policy and organizational changes were devised and implemented in an effort to improve the impact factor including increased activity on attracting review and environmental issues papers, increased efficiency of handling manuscripts, regular teleconference calls with Editor-in-Chief, ASA-CSSA- SSSA staff, and TEs, and numerous improvements in JEQ�s online manuscript tracking system. The greatest effort to improve the impact factor has been to attract high quality special collections of papers with a substantial increase in special collection papers over last year, an increase from 9 to 30 papers. The current impact factor of 2.236 shows a slight decline from last years 2.291. There is a two-year lag to see if current efforts to improve the impact factor will have an effect. The relationship of this subordinate project with the main in-house project on degraded water reuse, objective 1, is exposure to state-of-the- art research and the latest trends and techniques, which can be incorporated into the main project to make a significant advancement to our understanding in this specific research area. A substantial number of papers submitted to JEQ fall in the area of environmental impacts of degraded water reuse. Serving in the role of Editor of JEQ provides exposure to state-of-the-art research on the impacts of degraded water reuse, which provides a clear awareness of the knowledge gaps and the latest advances, making it possible to stay at the forefront in this research area. Monitoring of all progress is most effectively handled through JEQ�s on- line manuscript tracking system, ManuscriptTracker. ManuscriptTracker allows immediate access and evaluation of the progress of each manuscript by the Editor, TEs, AEs, Editor-in-Chief, and ASA-CSSA-SSSA Headquarters staff (JEQ Managing Editor and JEQ Financial Officer) along with up-to- date summary report access. Teleconference calls every 4 months between Editor-in-Chief, JEQ Managing Editor, Financial Office, and TEs were arranged to provide progress reports and to discuss policy and management changes. A mail server is in place as a means of exchanging ideas and communicating amongst the 100+ members of the JEQ Editorial Board. The mail server provides an open forum to discuss problems and concerns, maintain procedural consistency, and notify the entire editorial board of policy changes.

      Impacts
      (N/A)

      Publications


        Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10

        Outputs
        Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) Serve in a scientific review capacity as the Editor of ASA-CSSA-SSSA�s Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) and head of the JEQ Editorial Board, overseeing and reviewing the technical quality and scientific soundness of research that focuses on aspects of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Editorial Board serves as a mechanism to evaluate the experimental design, methodology, analysis of results, and conclusions of research to assure its quality and reliability Approach (from AD-416) The Editor is responsible for establishing journal policy and for overseeing the technical and intellectual content and quality of the journal. The Editor directs the work of technical editors (TEs) and associate editors (AEs) in reviewing and evaluating the worthiness of manuscripts submitted to the JEQ. The Editor is responsible for defining the journal�s aims, policies, and editorial coverage, and in recruiting members for the Editorial Board. The Editor delegates to TEs the responsibility of assigning manuscripts to AEs to obtain reviews from qualified peer scientists and making the final decision whether to accept or reject the paper. The Editor directly oversees the work of the TEs who are responsible for overseeing the work of the AEs. The Editor has the overall responsibility for determining that in-depth and timely reviews are obtained by the Editorial Board members and for maintaining the professional integrity of the review process. Documents Trust with American Society of Agronomy. Log 35586. Over the past year 517 manuscripts were submitted for consideration in Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) of which 37% were accepted for publication. One special collection of papers was published comprised of 9 papers. There are currently 13 special collections of papers in various stages of development. Ten new Associate Editors (AEs) were appointed to help increase the efficiency of handling manuscripts and seven AEs were reappointed to second terms. Once again, new deadlines were established to shorten handling time. Additional policy and organizational changes were devised and implemented in an effort to improve the impact factor including changes in novelty and originality requirements, increased activity on attracting review and environmental issues papers, increased efficiency of handling manuscripts, improvements in reference guideline materials for AEs, regular teleconference calls with Editor-in-Chief, ASA-CSSA-SSSA staff, and TEs. Monitoring of all progress is most effectively handled through JEQ�s on- line manuscript tracking system, ManuscriptTracker. ManuscriptTracker allows immediate access and evaluation of the progress of each manuscript by the Editor, TEs, AEs, Editor-in-Chief, and ASA-CSSA-SSSA Headquarters staff (JEQ Managing Editor and JEQ Financial Officer) along with up-to- date summary report access. Teleconference calls every 4 months between Editor-in-Chief, JEQ Managing Editor, Financial Office, and TEs were arranged to provide progress reports and to discuss policy and management changes. A mail server is in place as a means of exchanging ideas and communicating amongst the 90+ members of the JEQ Editorial Board. The mail server provides an open forum to discuss problems and concerns, maintain procedural consistency, and notify the entire editorial board of policy changes.

        Impacts
        (N/A)

        Publications


          Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09

          Outputs
          Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) Serve in a scientific review capacity as the Editor of ASA-CSSA-SSSA�s Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) and head of the JEQ Editorial Board, overseeing and reviewing the technical quality and scientific soundness of research that focuses on aspects of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Editorial Board serves as a mechanism to evaluate the experimental design, methodology, analysis of results, and conclusions of research to assure its quality and reliability Approach (from AD-416) The Editor is responsible for establishing journal policy and for overseeing the technical and intellectual content and quality of the journal. The Editor directs the work of technical editors (TEs) and associate editors (AEs) in reviewing and evaluating the worthiness of manuscripts submitted to the JEQ. The Editor is responsible for defining the journal�s aims, policies, and editorial coverage, and in recruiting members for the Editorial Board. The Editor delegates to TEs the responsibility of assigning manuscripts to AEs to obtain reviews from qualified peer scientists and making the final decision whether to accept or reject the paper. The Editor directly oversees the work of the TEs who are responsible for overseeing the work of the AEs. The Editor has the overall responsibility for determining that in-depth and timely reviews are obtained by the Editorial Board members and for maintaining the professional integrity of the review process. Documents Trust with American Society of Agronomy. Log 35586. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations Over the past year 534 manuscripts were submitted for consideration in JEQ of which 40% were accepted for publication. Five special collections of papers have been published comprised of 65 papers. There are currently 14 special collections of papers in various stages of development. A new Environmental Issues/Environmental Perspectives Editor has been appointed to organize high impact review and perspectives papers. Three new Technical Editors (TEs) were appointed to replace retiring TEs. Twenty-five new Associate Editors (AEs) were appointed to help increase the efficiency of handling manuscripts in a timely manner and eight AEs were reappointed to second terms, bring the editorial board to 90+ members. New deadlines were established to shorten handling time. Policy and organizational changes were devised and implemented in an effort to improve the impact factor including changes in minimum requirements for manuscript consideration, increased activity on attracting review papers and special collections of papers, increased efficiency of handling manuscripts, improvements in reference guideline materials for AEs, regular teleconference calls with Editor-in-Chief, ASA- CSSA-SSSA staff, and TEs. Monitoring of all progress is most effectively handled through JEQ�s on- line manuscript tracking system, ManuscriptTracker. ManuscriptTracker allows immediate access and evaluation of the progress of each manuscript by the Editor, TEs, AEs, Editor-in-Chief, and ASA-CSSA-SSSA Headquarters staff (JEQ Managing Editor and JEQ Financial Officer) along with up-to- date summary report access. Teleconference calls every 4 months between Editor-in-Chief, JEQ Managing Editor, Financial Office, and TEs were arranged to provide progress reports and to discuss policy and management changes. A mail server has been set up to provide a means of exchanging ideas and communicating amongst the 90+ members of the JEQ Editorial Board. The mail server provides an open forum to discuss problems and concerns, maintain procedural consistency, and notify the entire editorial board of policy changes.

          Impacts
          (N/A)

          Publications