Reports of CSSA divisions, branches, and committees, 2005.
Several reports of CSSA committees are published in this issue. Additionally, current and previous reports for the following committees are on file at the CSSA website, http://www.asa-cssa-sssa.org/anreports/index.phpC011.01 DIV. C-1
C011.02 DIV. C-2
C011.03 DIV. C-3
C011.04 DIV. C-4
C011.05 DIV. C-5
C011.06 DIV. C-6
C011.07 DIV. C-7
C011.08 DIV. C-8
C011.07 DIV. C-7
C051 NORTH CENTRAL BRANCH
C053 SOUTHERN BRANCH
C101 NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT
C111.01 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-1
C111.02 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-2
C111.03 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-3
C111.04 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-4
C111.05 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-5
C111.06 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-6
C111.07 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-7
C111.08 NOMINATIONS FOR DIV. C-8
C201 ORGANIZATION, POLICY & BYLAWS
C201.4 LONG RANGE PLANNING
C205 HISTORY COMMITTEE
C211 BUDGET & FINANCE
C236.1 CROP SCIENCE VISIBILITY & IDENTITY
C301 EDITORIAL AFFAIRS, POLICIES & PRACTICES
C302 AGRONOMY JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD
C308 CROP MANAGEMENT
C311 APPLIED TURFGRASS SCIENCE EDITORIAL BOARD
C402 HONORARY MEMBERSHIP
C450 GENERAL AWARDS
C451 CROP SCIENCE RESEARCH AWARD
C452 MONSANTO CROP SCIENCE DISTINGUISHED CAREER AWARD
C453 FRANK N. MEYER MEDAL FOR PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES
C454 YOUNG CROP SCIENTIST AWARD
C455 FELLOWS
C456 NCCPB GENETICS AND PLANT BREEDING AWARD
C302 CROP SCIENCE EDITORIAL BOARD
CSSA Editor-in-Chief Report for 2004-2005
Crop Science. Regarding CSSA publications, our major effort this year involved groundwork to launch The Plant Genome, a supplement of Crop Science that we hope to spin off to an independent journal in the coming years. The Plant Genome will be edited by Randy Shoemaker, who will serve as a Technical Editor under the leadership of Kendall Lamkey, the Editor of Crop Science. Dr. Shoemaker has assembled a board of seven impressive Associate Editors. They will work together to focus the content, develop a style sheet specific for genomics reporting, and explore subtitles for the supplement. A new release announcing The Plant Genome will appear in the December issue of CSANews.
doi:10.2135/cropsci2005:0111db
C457 GERALD O. MOTT SCHOLARSHIP
C458 FRED V. GRAU TURFGRASS SCIENCE AWARD
C459 SEED SCIENCE AWARD
C460 INTERNATIONAL SERVICE IN CROP SCIENCES AWARD
C462 CROP SCIENCE TEACHING AWARD
C464 CROP SCIENCE EXTENSION EDUCATION AWARD
C561 CROP SCIENCE TEACHING IMPROVEMENT
C563 EMERGING ISSUE OF INTEREST TO CROP SCIENTISTS
C613 COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY PRESIDENTS
C622 WEED SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
C631.4 AAAS, SECTION G
C631.5 AAAS, SECTION O
C632 AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
C691.1 COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
C711 PROGRAM PLANNING
C711.09 BETTY KLEPPER ENDOWED LECTURESHIP
C852 CROP REGISTRATIONS
C853 INTERNATIONAL CROP SCIENCE
AC310 FORAGE & GRAZINGLANDS EDITORIAL BOARD
AC424 COLLEGIATE CROPS CONTEST
ACS222 INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ACS321.5 ELECTRONIC CONVERSION OF BACK ISSUES
ACS325.36 NITROGEN IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
ACS325.37 DRYLAND AGRICULTURE
ACS325.38 IRRIGATION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS
ACS328.3 ORGANIC CROP PRODUCTION
ACS526 WOMEN IN AGRONOMY, CROPS, SOILS, & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACS528 MINORITIES IN AGRONOMY
ACS530 EARLY CAREER MEMBERS, AD HOC
ACS536 DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE POLICY
ACS711.16 CHANGE IN ANNUAL MEETING FORMAT
ACS836 BIOSECURITY
Crop Science continues to tweak manuscript handling protocols within Manuscript Central. Kendall is working closely with Carrie Czerwonka and Nick Rhodehamel at HQ to standardize manuscript flow, including submission by authors and tracking by editors. This tweaking exercise has required significant energy, but it has put CSSA in the role of assisting the other societies, should they make the transition to this professional software package. Also, CSSA has provided HQ with production software, a component not available in Manuscript Tracker.
Kendall is exploring new ways to organize the content within Crop Science. One item relates to Crop Registration articles. There has been a case of accidental double publishing; authors are reminded that Crop Science publishes original research. There has also been consideration to group these articles into one publication, thereby providing a year-end supplement for all registrations within a given year. A final item relates to organization of the content by division. In 2006, Kendall will likely recommend that CSSA consider dropping the divisional headings (C1, C5, etc) from the Table of Contents.
Crop Science continues to be a successful journal. It currently receives more hits on HighWire, our online host, than received by any other Tri-Societies journal. The number of papers being published continues to increase to the point of posing a potential problem in hard copy binding. Acceptance rate is 64.4%, up from the 2004 rate of 57.8%; this rate will probably level off near 60%, its long-term acceptance rate.
e-Journals. Regarding the electronic journals, which include Crop Management, Forages and Grazinglands, and Applied Turfgrass Science, all three are growing in content (Table EIC1). Most of submissions continue to be research papers, some of which have been released on the basis of basic content. In general, the e-journals need to attract more guides.
The e-journals are also maturing in manuscript processing. All three journals are processing manuscripts quickly, within only 4 months of their submission dates. The journals will soon be requiring manuscripts to be submitted and edited via Manuscript Central, like Crop Science.
The Editors would also like to see a more effective editorial board meeting. Some of the editors are entomologists, plant pathologists, and weed scientists, and they do not attend the Tri-Societies annual meeting. So the Editors would like CSSA to accommodate the editorial board by providing teleconference capabilities.
All three Editors would like to see CSSA strengthen our relationship with the Plant Management Network (PMN). The Editors would also like to see Division A9 of ASA strengthen its relationship with PMN. Because members of the TriSocieties provides the bulk of the content and CSSA provides the editorial board, the Editors would like to hear our leadership refer to the PMN journals as "our journals."
Book Reviews. In 2004, Dennis Egli was appointed as Crop Science Book Review Editor. In 2005, Dennis has received 19 books for review, some unsolicited from publishers but most after a request. Seven of these 19 have been reviewed, three are under review, two are about to undergo review. Seven were dismissed prior to review as subject matter was deemed inappropriate for Crop Science. Dennis is on track to publish fifteen reviews in Crop Science in 2005.
Regarding content, the 12 books sent to reviewers in 2005 included 4 in genetics and biotechnology (one was actually a two-CD learning module), three in forage crop production and management, four dealing with environmental issues, and one in seed ecology.
The most challenging aspect of this position continues to be the identification of reviewers for the diverse subject matter covered by the books Dennis receives. Reviewers are cooperative, usually not refusing an offer to review a book and generally meeting deadlines.
Books, Monographs, Multimedia. The Books and Monographs Committee is now numbered the ACS.320 committee and is named "Books and Multimedia Publishing Committee;" the chair is David Baltensperger. The new committee merged with the SSSA Book Series committee and plans to address multimedia publications. The new committee is finding its way under excellent guidance from Lisa Al-Amoodi.
New publications in 2005 include Soil Wetting Agents, a turfgrass CD-ROM set; Roots and Soil Management: Interactions between Roots and the Soil; Phosphorus: Agriculture and the Environment; Micrometeorology in Agricultural Systems; and Chemical Processes of Soils (an SSSA Book Series Publication). Three publications are currently in production and should be published soon. Two of these include turf CDs, and one is a monograph dealing with dryland agriculture. Two monographs appear to be in limbo, and their fate will be addressed by the committee. These books are Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils and Irrigation of Agricultural Crops; both books were initiated in 1999.
In March 2006, the Tri-Societies will be initiating special use publications referred to as "custom content" publications. These are bound compilations of articles cherry-picked for classroom use.
The Tri-Societies are making tremendous progress in improving the cosmetics of their books. The new monographs have full-color covers, which gives them appeal in the marketplace. Some of the older publications are being fitted with a full-color jacket. In addition to the cosmetics, the Tri-Societies are making an effort to improve marketing these publications with the assistance of Betsy Ahner, who is now part of the ACS.320 committee.
Digital Teaching Tools. The next "big item" for CSSA publications to address is the production of digital teaching tools, or at least the exploration of producing such tools. Digital teaching tools are photo collections, animations, and videos that can be used in the classroom. They provide instructors with effective AV aids. Digital teaching tools could be valuable in outreach events, but their primary audience is the student.
Several digital resources are already being compiled by our members. Some colleagues have compiled photo collections for their texts. Others have collected streaming videos and animations. While some of these resources are of professional quality, many are not. And most of them are not citable, as they have not been formally reviewed or published. There seems to be plenty of individual activity but no corresponding policy, coordination, or acquisition effort.
It is likely that our members would want to co-produce and purchase these tools, should there be a vehicle to do so within our society. The young career members need these for their courses, and they would benefit greatly from a publication citation, should they develop one of these tools. Older instructors, many of whom lack advanced computer skills, would appreciate using these resources. Also, those who work in industry would need these tools in their training events. The widespread use of these tools would increase our visibility, especially among graduate students.
We cannot watch the digital revolution bypass us or farm out our innovation to other publishers. If we do not produce such tools, someone else will. The result would be high quality, digital publications being branded and owned by other, more progressive organizations and publishing houses. These organizations, not CSSA, will be serving our membership.
An ad hoc committee has been assembled to explore digital teaching tools for the agronomic sciences, including crop science, soil science, and agronomic production. This committee, which has been in the making since 2004, is diverse. It includes faculty who teach in basic and applied subjects. The committee also includes faculty of all rank, nearly all of them with significant teaching appointments. Their current positions and locations of academic training represent all regions of the US, and one colleague is international.
This ad hoc committee plans to meet over the winter and explore the potential of developing these tools. They will function as a temporary think tank, unrestricted for the time being, compiling a wish list for instructors. They will also discuss problems with standardization and quality control and consider a review procedure. Because of reorganizations of standing committees, it makes sense that this committee eventually report to the newly formed ACS320 committee, which now deals with books and multimedia.
Acknowledgements. The Editors of these journals are grateful to the staff at Madison, including those already mentioned as well as Fran Katz. Without Fran, CSSA would probably not be enjoying this degree of progress. A special note, the Editors of Crop Science are grateful to CSSA President Coors for his reliable support, genuine interest and hands-on participation as we worked through The Plant Genome initiative.
--Craig Roberts
EIC, CSSA
C302(a) Managing Editor Report
Carrie Czerwonka continues to be our half-time assistant editor; Carrie also works half time on SSSAJ. Help provided by our editorial assistant Meg Johnson is appreciated. Frances Katz became our publications director in February. Fran has experience in industry and with other professional societies, most recently the Institute of Food Technologists.
During this year, we began "continuous publication," in which we post roughly half of an issue on the HighWire site the month before the total issue is posted and mailed. This has worked without any problems but has not significantly reduced the time from acceptance to publication, one of our original goals.
A major development this year was adopting ScholarOne's online manuscript submission program. This has not been an easy transition, but we are hopeful that the most difficult part is over. We continue to believe that the program has many benefits for the journal.
A significant issue confronting the journal is the continuing decline in library and individual subscriptions and the concomitant increase in costs associated with editing and printing. Affordable and sophisticated PC-based typesetting-layout software is now available. One cost-saving option we are exploring is producing more of the journal in-house. This should help us more effectively address also the issue of the time from acceptance of a manuscript to its publication.
"Custom content-print on demand" is another idea we are exploring. Symposia or special topics papers can be taken from the journal (or any of our journals) and bound together in a low-print number, special publication and sold to be used for a variety of purposes, class material for example.
In early 2006, Crop Science will launch a new section of the journal that will focus on translational genomics; it will be called "The Plant Genome" and Randy Shoemaker from Iowa State University has been appointed the technical editor. This section will be edited, typeset, and paginated entirely in-house. It will be produced as a stand alone, saddle-stitch insert that will be mailed with Crop Science inside the plastic mailing bag. Initially, it will be quarterly and have about five papers per issue.
During the last 5 yr, we have seen an upward trend in the number of papers we publish (Table MER1). The last three issue of this year we published nearly 60 papers in each (Table MER2). We have no indication that this trend is changing. Table MER3 presents Manuscripttracker data on number of submissions (2002-2005) and acceptance rate. Table MER4 (also from Manuscripttracker, 2002-2005) compares domestic versus foreign submissions.
Capitol City Press of Montpelier, VT, continues to typeset and paginate Crop Science, as well as create STML for the online version. HighWire Press continues to host the online version.
--Nicholas H. Rhodehamel
Managing Editor, Crop Science
C852 Crop Registration Report
Minutes of the C852 Crop Registration Committee Meeting Salt Lake City, UT, Nov. 6, 2005 4:00-6:00 PM Marriott Downtown Grand Ballroom Salon C
1. Introductions. Attendees: Richard D. Horsley, Prakash Arelli, Blair Waldron, Stephanie Greene, Marcelo Carena, Jean-Luc Jannink, W.D. Branch, J. Neil Rutger, Gerald J. Seiler, Jeffrey Pedersen, Leonard W. Panella, Philip Bruckner, Nick Rhodehamel, Carrie Czerwonka, Frances Katz, Dave Ellis.
2. Report from Nick Rhodehamel. Nick reported that papers were moving more swiftly, and that papers were increasing in length. The Journal has been carrying 60 papers per issue for the last several issues, and nearly all of the papers are completed through Manuscript Tracker, and are now mostly coming from Manuscript Central. See Table REG1.
3. Discussion--Carrie Czerwonka. Discussions of various complexity of Manuscript Central were discussed, and Carrie Czerwonka offered training at two sessions during the meeting.
4. Discussion--Frances Katz. The possibility of moving registrations from the hard copy for an earlier publication date, putting them on the association web for a few weeks before they were "batched" to Highwire was discussed, as well as publishing them as a book, annually. Registrations would then have their own TOC and authors names would be used. This was seen as negative by members of the Committee, and by others who had sent letters noting that this wasn't a good move for those registering germplasm. Hence, The matter was dropped.
5. Guidelines and Format--Jeff Pedersen. Jeff held a discussion of Guidelines and Format, and Nick Rhodehamel noted that the need for formatting didn't come from headquarters, and that often the formatting had to be removed before the papers were processed.
6. Procedures to Store Seed of Crop Registration Materials at NCGRP--Dave Ellis. A document outlining CSR handling at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) was distributed and the timing relationship between seed storage and materials was discussed.
7. Discussion of prior publication--posting text on the web. A manuscript had previously been posted on a University web page exactly as submitted on MC. Because of this prior publication, the manuscript had to be withdrawn from Registration in Crop Science by the author. The need for a warning to authors and University Administrators to be published by CSSA was discussed to prevent this from happening in the future.
8. Status of Registration Certificates and assignment of PI numbers--Steve Eberhart. Steve indicated that because of a change in ARS staff at Beltsville, no Registration Certificates have been printed in the past two years. Hence, a procedure is being developed to allow the corresponding author to download and print Registration Certificates. More information will be provided by Judy Grotenhuis, NCGRP, soon.
9. Recognition of retiring Committee and Subcommittee chairs.
Steve Eberhart C852 Chair Lance Gibson C852 11 Rye & Triticale Jeff Pedersen C852 13 Sorghum Roy Scott C852 14 Soybean Scott B. Milligan C852 16 Sugarcane
10. Adjourn.
ACS321 EDITORIAL POLICY COORDINATION COMMITTEE and A301 EDITORIAL AFFAIRS, POLICIES, AND PRACTICES COMMITTEE
The Committee met on Tuesday, 9 Nov. 2005, at 8:30 a.m. in Salt Lake City, UT. The meeting was called to order my the ASA editor-in-chief, Dr. Ken Barbarick. Those present were:
Kenneth A. Barbarick, ASA Editor-in-Chief
Warren Dick, SSSA Editor-in-Chief (outgoing)
Sally Logsdon, SSSA Editor-in-Chief (incoming)
Craig Roberts, CSSA Editor-in-Chief
Gary Pierzynski, Journal of Environmental Quality Editor
Kendall Lamkey, Crop Science Editor
Rien van Genuchten, Vadose Zone Journal Editor
Richard Mulvaney, SSSA Journal Editor
John Graveel, Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education Editor
Robert Kallenbach, Crop Management Editor
Michael Casler, Forage and Grazinglands Editor
Michael Richardson, Applied Turfgrass Science Editor
David Baltensperger, Book and Multimedia Publishing Committee Chair
Fran Katz, Director of Publications
Carrie Czerwonka, Crop Science and SSSA Journal Assistant Editor
Lisa Al-Amoodi, Vadose Zone Journal Managing Editor
Nicholas Rhodehamel, Crop Science and SSSA Journal Managing Editor
Susan Ernst, Agronomy Journal, Journal of Environmental Quality, and Journal of
Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education Managing Editor
Introductions
The Committee members introduced themselves. Agendas were handed out and the meeting began.
Comments from the Publications Director--Fran Katz
We have a new financial package at the Headquarters office, which means we now can better track expenses. We noticed that we need to act now and turn the trend around regarding decreasing subscriptions and membership numbers. The library subscriptions have dropped by about 14 to 16% last year. Ms. Katz called several of the libraries that dropped subscriptions and found a mix of reasons, among which were no funds, no demand, large percentage price increase, and ability to obtain the journal through agencies. We must increase readership and one way to do that is by publishing more review papers. Editorial boards should consider inviting reviews and waiving page charges. Another means to increase readership is by publishing position papers on special topics such as worldwide malnutrition and organic foods.
Special Projects Editor--Warren Dick
Dr. Dick volunteered his time to perform as special projects editor. This role will be part of the Book and Multimedia Publishing Committee.
E-Journal Update
Dr. van Genuchten, editor of Vadose Zone Journal, reported that about 150 institutions now subscribe to the journal. He is encouraged by the budget numbers that the journal is doing well. Submissions are up this year to about 180, about the same as last year. He did less work promoting the journal this year and he has decided to step down as editor. He proposed going to a three co-editor structure. One editor would be appointed by SSSA, one by GSA, and one by AGU. Dr. van Genuchten is willing to serve as one of the co-editors.
The partnership with ASA and CSSA has been in effect regarding the Crop Management Network's Crop Management, Applied Turfgrass Science, and Forage and Grazinglands. CM submissions have grown and leveled off, and publishes about 55 to 60 papers yearly. PMN sells subscriptions to university systems; there are 28 land-grant institutions involved. A total of about 40 institutions subscribe, and individuals also subscribe. PMN is going to use Manuscript Central starting in 2006.
Manuscript Tracker/Manuscript Central
Crop Science began using Manuscript Central 11 Apr. 2005. They got off to a rocky start but it is working well now and authors have given positive feedback. Those involved are getting up to speed. Associate Editors have issues with learning the new system. The Headquarters office learned that an administrator is a must; Carrie Czerwonka is the administrator for Crop Science. Discussion followed. The remaining journals are satisfied with Manuscript Tracker and will continue using it.
Accept/Reject Survey Results--Ken Barbarick
Dr. Barbarick reported on the survey results and let the group know he will close out the 2005 survey and start another one for 2006. He will work with Headquarters and let everyone know the new URLs.
Other Matters
Dr. Dick suggested that editorial committee members be given ribbons on their name badges for the annual meetings (Editors, Editors-in-Chief, Technical Editors). It was noted that Headquarters already are planning for this to happen with the 2006 meeting.
The appropriate Editor-in-Chief should handle any manuscripts that editors submit manuscripts to their respective journals. For instance, ASA for Agronomy Journal, SSSA for Vadose Zone Journal.
Headquarters will begin using an electronic review and tracking system very soon. The book committee is also looking at different formats for books, such as single-authored books. The committee is exploring new ideas and is excited about the opportunities.
The meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m.
--K.A. Barbarick, ASA Editor-in-Chief, and Susan Ernst, Managing Editor
ACS324.1 JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EDITORIAL BOARD
Introductions
The JEQ Editorial Board met on Wednesday, 9 Nov. 2005, in Salt Lake City, UT. Present at the meeting were:
K.A. Barbarick, ASA Editor-in-Chief
W.A. Dick, SSSA Editor-in-Chief (outgoing)
S. Logsdon, SSSA Editor-in-Chief (incoming)
G.M. Pierzynski, Editor
Susan Ernst, Managing Editor
Frances Katz, Publications Director
Carrie Czerwonka, Assistant Editor
Technical Editors:
D.L. Corwin
W.J. Hickey
D.B. Jaynes
S. McGrath
Associate Editors:
S. Bradford
S. Brown
T. Clough
M. Coyne
M. David
M.B. Kirkham
J. Kovar
D.-Y. Lee
L. Lee
R. Lerch
R. Maguire
Y. Ouyang
S. Prior
N. Ransom
M. Russelle
K. Sajwan
K. Scheckel
O. Wendroth
M. Selim
R. Stehouwer
Editorial Board Update--Gary M. Pierzynski
Editor Gary Pierzynski thanked retiring associate editors and the entire Editorial Board for their service to JEQ. Those retiring from the Editorial Board are Mark Elless, Ganga Hettiarachchi, Dar-Yuan Lee, Linda Lee, Mike McLaughlin, Rick Stehouwer, Dan Sullivan, Dirk Wallschlager, and Walter Wenzel. Associate editors reappointed for a second term are Scott Bradford, Sally Brown, Jorge Santo-Domingo, John Kovar, Nick Lepp, Sharon Papiernik, Larry Puckett, Kirk Scheckel, Michael Thompson, and Scott Yates. New associate editors are Ron Corstanje, Peter Kleinman, Rai Kookana, Neal Menzies, Elizabeth Pilon-Smits, Andrew Simon, Stephen Smith, and Ranier Shulin.
Andrew Sharpley has been reappointed for a second term as technical editor and Dan Jaynes and Steve McGrath have decided to retire. Magdi Selim will be replacing Dan Jaynes and Erik Smolders will be replacing Steve McGrath.
Managing Editor's Report--Susan Ernst Production
Work for Volume 34 of JEQ is almost complete. The number of total pages for 2005 is less than those published last year (20 less). A summary of papers published, total pages, etc., for 2005 compared with the six previous volumes is shown in Table 1.
The 2005 issues of JEQ contained the following total published pages: No. 1,408; No. 2, 340; No. 3,432; No. 4, 316; No. 5, 492; and No. 6, 420, for an average of 401 pages per issue.
The journal is scheduled to mail the second Wednesday of the publication month. All issues were completed and mailed as follows: No. 1, 12 January; No. 2, 14 March; No. 3, 13 May; No. 4, 22 July; No. 5, 20 September; and No. 6, scheduled for 8 November.
To date we have 9 technical reports and 1 review and analysis paper scheduled for the No. 1, 2006 issue.
We began continuous publication with the May-June 2005 issue. Articles are posted to the web site each month, but the journal is still a bimonthly publication.
International Submissions. Many papers published in JEQ are international (non-U.S.). Table 2 summarizes the data for the 2000 to 2005 issues.
Electronic Version of JEQ. JEQ continues to be published electronically by HighWire Press, Palo Alto, CA. The online JEQ is available at http://jeq.scijournals.org/. Table 3 shows the hits to the A-C-S journals on the HighWire site, April to September 2005.
Executive Summaries. The number of summaries is steadily increasing. The averages for the last few years are as follows: 2001, 75%; 2002, 84%; 2003, 97%; 2004, 98%; 2005, 100%. Refer to Table 4 to see the percentages of papers published with summaries for 2002 to 2005.
Circulation
Subscribers can choose either print, electronic, CD, or any combination of these. See the table below for the numbers of each, for the last 5 years. Note that the total subscribers for 2005 to date is 2313. This is a net loss of 101 compared with last year. Table 5 gives the subscriber information from 2001 to 2005.
Please recommend JEQ to your librarian by downloading the form found at website: www.asa-cssa-sssa.org/publications/ pdf/journal_insert.pdf.
Journal/Research Promotion, including Science In Action
The Societies headquarters office continues to work with the editors and authors to expand our journals' reach to members, the scientific/professional community, the media, and the public. Editors/managing editors selected dozens of journal articles this year that have practical application or public appeal and authors then write an interpretive summary for headquarters. From there, the summaries can be tapped for inclusion in CSA News, the News Flash eNewsletter, and the Science in Action research eNewsletter (www.scienceinaction.org).
Science in Action is a customized email launched in January 2005 that sends 100-word summaries of journal articles and abstract links to subscribers based on their keywords (16 keywords from corn to turfgrass to soil and water quality). A subscription is free to members. Upon the Science in Action launch, we had 182 subscribers and since then we have expanded to 491. It is our hope that we will continue our commitment to technology transfer by taking our research and getting it into the hands of professionals, scientists, media, and the public.
Science in Action published research from the following journals in 2005 (to date): 13 from Agronomy Journal, 12 from Crop Science, 22 from Journal of Environmental Quality, 7 from JNRLSE, 7 from Soil Science Society of America Journal, and 11 from Vadose Zone Journal.
Additionally, in the past year, our research/press releases were picked up in the following media outlets: Plant Management Network, Environmental News Network, USDA-ARS, High Plains Journal, Agriculture.com, Capital Press, RedNova. corn, ArsTechnica.com, AIBS Public Policy Report, ABC-News.com, Turfgrass Trends, PPI/Better Crops, and DTN.
Editorial Comments
Manuscript Processing. We appreciate the great help the associate editors provide regarding the technical aspects of manuscripts. Any help with style is also appreciated since it can save us many hours of copyediting time, especially with the References section. The AEs do not need to do the work, but rather ask authors to format that section according to our style manual. For AEs who are interested in style matters, remember that the instructions to authors is online at http:// jeq.scijournals.org/misc/ifora.shtml and the Publications Handbook and Style Manual is available online at www.asa-cssa-sssa.org/publications/style/. Printing and Typesetting. Printing and typesetting of the journal continues at Capital City Press, Montpelier, VT, under a contract due to expire the end of 2007. Acknowledgments. Thank you to all who help with production of JEQ. Thanks go out to Gary Pierzynski, editor; the technical editors and associate editors; Eric Sherman, associate production editor; Meg Johnson, editorial assistant; Keith Lovejoy, reprints; and the journals department.
Comments from the Editor--Gary Pierzynski
Status of Manuscripts and Summary of Published Papers
The number of submissions in 2005 was slightly above 2004. The number of submissions of manuscripts was 540 in 2002, 455 in 2003, 485 in 2004, and 487 in 2005. Note that these numbers are being reported in a different fashion as compared to previous years because of the use of Manuscript Tracker to generate the values. Values do not include book reviews, letters to the editor, and so forth. The low value in 2003 may have been because of the high publication charges for that year. The new policy of $650 per paper in 2004 has likely helped submission numbers somewhat. The number of international submissions has been steadily declining during the past four years. The percentages from outside the United States were 51% in 2001, 44% in 2002, 41% in 2003, 26% in 2004, and 23% in 2005.
The acceptance rate has been fairly steady in recent years. The values are 43% in 2001, 49% in 2002, 45% in 2003, and 48% in 2004. The data are insufficient to provide an acceptance rate for 2005 as many papers submitted in 2005 are still in review.
Symposia Proceedings and Book Reviews
Symposia proceedings have become an important part of the journal and the JEQ editor is constantly looking for proposals related to publication of symposia proceedings. The papers published as symposium proceedings are reviewed in the same way as volunteered papers. The purpose is to keep the quality of these papers at a high level. Often a single associate editor will be assigned to work with symposium organizers to edit all of the papers from a single symposium. The symposium series published in 2005 were the Sustainable Land Application Conference, Rhizosphere 2004, and The International Phosphorus Conference. The editor is currently working with a USDA Greenhouse Gas Conference for 2006 and several agreements have been made to publish a series of papers from large, multi-investigator projects.
Book Review submissions remain strong. One of the strengths of JEQ is its book review section and emphasis will continue to be placed on obtaining good quality book reviews. The Editorial Board is congratulated on their willingness to provide a number of reviews. Dr. Mary Beth Kirkham is the associate editor in charge for book reviews and she has done an excellent job of finding reviewers and increasing the return rate for solicited reviews Fifty-four book reviews were published in 2004.
Manuscript Tracker Update
JEQ has required all manuscripts to be submitted electronically since 1 Jan. 2004 and the transition has been smooth. Less than 10 papers submitted as printed copies needed to be returned to authors. The use of Manuscript Tracker has helped to improve review times (see Table 6), although a concerted effort by associate editors to stay current with their manuscripts has also helped. The Editorial Board was congratulated on reducing the review times and encouraged to remain vigilant on their papers.
The 2005 numbers are preliminary and will change as the remaining 2005 papers work their way through the system.
Some additional changes in Manuscript Tracker are planned for 2006 including the addition of another list of choices for reviewers pertaining to the originality or novelty of a paper and manuscript disposition options for associate editors, technical editors, and the editor allowing for the release of a paper without review. This latter change will cause the acceptance rate to decrease because many papers released without review in 2005 (approximately 40) by the editor were not assigned registration numbers and are not counted as submitted papers.
JEQ Impact Factor
Gary Pierzynski presented data on the JEQ impact factor (see Table 7).
He noted that JEQ is steady in the categories of total cites and number of articles but the impact factor has declined. The impact factor rank declined because of the decline in the JEQ impact factor and because the impact factor of many journals in environmental science increased. It is hoped the publication of symposium papers will help improve the impact factor.
Outstanding Reviewers for 2005
Gary Pierzynski reminded the Editorial Board that he is soliciting nominations for the Editor's Excellence in Review Awards. Six awards will be given out for 2005 in addition to the Outstanding Associate Editor Award. Please send nominations for Outstanding Reviewers to Dr. Pierzynski. All he needs is the name of the reviewer and the registration number of the paper or papers for which the reviewer has done an exemplary job.
JEQ Author Survey Results
A survey was developed early in 2004 to obtain feedback on the performance of all society journals. Authors are given the opportunity to respond to the survey when they receive final word on the disposition of their papers. Tables 8 and 9 summarize the results for 2005. Relatively few responses have been obtained, so the data must be viewed with some caution. Review time and instructions for revisions appear to be the areas needing improvement for papers that were rejected.
Subject Matter Categories
Papers have been published under specified subject matter categories since the first issue of 1991. The titles of subject matter categories can change periodically and several new categories were started in 1999. The categories have not changed since 2000.
Surface water quality surpassed waste management as the top category in 2005 and wetlands and aquatic processes made a substantial increase. Organic chemicals in the environment, heavy metals in the environment, atmospheric pollutants and trace gases, biodegradation and bioremediation, ecological risk assessment, and landscape and watershed processes remain strong (Table 10).
The meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
--Gary M. Pierzynski, Editor, and Susan Ernst, Managing Editor
Table EIC1. Key publication statistics for the three electronic
journals jointly published by CSSA and the Plant Management Network
(PMN).
Journal Editor Papers submitted
Crop Management Rob Kallenbach 42 ([double dagger])
Forage and Grazinglands Mike Casler 22 ([double dagger])
Applied Turfgrass Science Mike Richardson 36 ([section])
Processing time
Journal Acceptance rate ([dagger])
% d
Crop Management 59 115
Forage and Grazinglands 65 120
Applied Turfgrass Science 59 111
([dagger]) Time from submission to publication (including initial
review and revision).
([double dagger]) Number submitted in 9 mo (1 Jan. to 15 Oct. 2005).
([section]) Number submitted in past 12 months (since ASA meeting
in Seattle).
Table MER1. Overall size of Crop Science and the number and types
of papers published in the current and previous years.
Total
published
Research items
Year Pages papers Notes Registrations ([dagger])
Number
2005 2684 321 4 145 488
2004 2292 263 3 177 449
2003 2320 268 8 123 425
2002 2258 273 7 120 436
2001 2022 256 8 161 458
2000 1866 251 11 178 472
1999 1926 254 10 187 473
1998 1758 241 7 131 379
1997 2020 291 12 163 467
1996 1744 250 10 127 387
1995 1754 258 9 171 451
1994 1712 266 17 138 422
1993 1450 243 9 154 398
Average Average
paper note
length length
([double ([double
Year dagger]) dagger])
Number of pages
2005 7.7 --
2004 7.6 4
2003 7.6 4.9
2002 7.2 5.3
2001 6.9 3.8
2000 6.4 3.6
1999 6.7 3.5
1998 6.1 3.0
1997 5.8 2.9
1996 6.0 2.6
1995 5.8 2.9
1994 5.8 4.5
1993
([dagger]) In addition to research papers, notes, and registrations,
this section includes errata, book reviews, and letters.
([double dagger]) Computed by dividing total number of pages by total
number of papers; fractional pages included.
Table MER2. Division size in Crop Science for each issue in the
current year compared with the totals from previous years.
Volume 45 Issues
Division 1 2 2 4 5 6 Total
Crop breeding, 20 13 19 21 21 29 123
genetics & cytology
Crop physiology & 4 1 2 5 3 5 20
metabolism
Crop ecology, management 3 7 2 7 8 6 33
& quality
Seed physiology, production 0 1 1 3 1 1 7
& technology
Turfgrass science 6 7 2 5 2 1 23
Forage & grazinglands 6 6 2 6 7 6 33
Genomics, molecular 7 6 4 4 8 7 36
genetics & biotechnology
Plant genetic resources 2 2 6 8 8 5 31
Perspective 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Review & interpretation 1 1 0 0 0 1 3
Symposia 0 6 4 0 0 0 10
Total 49 50 44 59 58 61 321
Notes 0 0 2 0 2 0 4
Letters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Book reviews 0 2 3 2 3 5 15
Errata 0 1 1 1 0 0 3
Total 0 3 6 3 5 5 22
Cultivars 20 20 9 14 7 23 93
Germplasm 5 6 7 9 8 6 41
Parental lines 0 0 1 0 0 3 4
Genetic stocks 2 0 0 3 0 0 5
Mapping populations 0 0 0 1 0 1 2
Total 27 26 17 27 15 33 145
Grand total 76 79 67 89 78 98 488
Previous year totals
Division 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
Crop breeding, 92 103 84 88 88 76
genetics & cytology
Crop physiology & 26 22 28 26 33 33
metabolism
Crop ecology, management 25 18 22 22 30 34
& quality
Seed physiology, production 5 5 8 4 12 8
& technology
Turfgrass science 34 25 31 27 20 15
Forage & grazinglands 17 19 30 15 11 12
Genomics, molecular 33 41 37 32 34 35
genetics & biotechnology
Plant genetic resources 24 24 29 33 20 23
Perspective 1 1 2 3 0 1
Review & interpretation 5 6 2 2 3 3
Symposia 1 4 0 4 0 14
Total 263 268 273 256 251 254
Notes 3 8 7 8 11 10
Letters -- 0 2 0 0 0
Book reviews 3 18 28 23 30 29
Errata 3 8 6 2 2 2
Total 9 34 43 41 43 41
Cultivars 111 79 71 108 107 65
Germplasm 55 32 42 45 52 70
Parental lines 6 8 4 2 4 26
Genetic stocks 4 3 3 7 4 26
Mapping populations 1 -- -- -- -- --
Total 177 123 120 161 178 187
Grand total 449 425 436 458 472 473
Previous year totals
Division 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994
Crop breeding, 85 113 99 115 121
genetics & cytology
Crop physiology & 20 36 43 43 51
metabolism
Crop ecology, management 29 25 22 14 22
& quality
Seed physiology, production 4 11 4 9 11
& technology
Turfgrass science 34 20 16 6 7
Forage & grazinglands 10 12 4 8 19
Genomics, molecular 40 34 31 16 13
genetics & biotechnology
Plant genetic resources 17 31 24 25 22
Perspective 0 0 1 0 0
Review & interpretation 2 5 1 3 4
Symposia 0 4 5 19 0
Total 241 291 250 258 270
Notes 7 12 10 9 14
Letters 0 1 0 3 0
Book reviews -- -- -- -- --
Errata -- -- -- -- --
Total 7 13 10 12 14
Cultivars 74 99 76 106 72
Germplasm 40 45 44 61 58
Parental lines 9 8 5 8 6
Genetic stocks 8 11 2 6 2
Mapping populations -- -- -- -- --
Total 131 163 127 181 138
Grand total 379 467 387 451 422
Table MER3. Accept/release report by year decision made. ([dagger])
Percentage
Year Accept Release Total accepted
2005 266 147 413 64.4
2004 375 274 649 57.8
2003 98 119 217 45.2
2002 0 10 10 --
([dagger]) Manuscripttracker data (14 October 2005).
Table MER4. Crop Science submissions, U.S. and non-U.S. ([dagger])
Submissions Report
U.S. Non-U.S. Total % Non-U.S.
Year submissions submissions submissions submissions
2005 190 30 220 13.6
2004 490 144 634 22.7
2003 317 154 471 32.7
2002 32 28 60 46.7
([dagger]) Manuscripttracker data (14 October 2005).
Table MER5. Hits to the home page journal sites on HighWire Press,
April-September 2005.
Journal title April May June July August
JEQ 9289 8791 8316 8113 8651
Agronomy Journal 9666 9119 8733 8290 9517
Crop Science 12064 12442 11193 10680 12631
SSSAJ 12371 12072 11359 10542 10879
Vadose Zone Journal 3824 3968 3689 3319 3879
Journal title September Avg.
JEQ 9951 8852
Agronomy Journal 9852 9196
Crop Science 12729 11957
SSSAJ 12696 11653
Vadose Zone Journal 4117 3799
Table REG1. Number of crop registrations published, 1994-2005.
Previous
year
Volume 45 Issues total
Registration type 1 2 3 4 5 6 total 2004 2003
Cultivar 20 20 9 14 7 23 93 111 79
Germplasm 5 6 7 9 8 6 41 55 32
Parental line 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 6 8
Genetic stock 2 0 0 3 0 0 5 4 3
Mapping population 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 --
Total 27 26 17 27 15 33 145 177 123
Previous year total
Registration type 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996
Cultivar 71 108 107 65 74 99 76
Germplasm 42 45 52 70 40 45 44
Parental line 4 2 4 26 9 8 5
Genetic stock 3 7 4 26 8 11 2
Mapping population -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Total 120 161 178 187 131 163 127
Previous
year total
Registration type 1995 1994
Cultivar 106 72
Germplasm 61 58
Parental line 8 6
Genetic stock 6 2
Mapping population -- --
Total 181 138
Table 1. Summary of papers published in JEQ, 1999 to 2005.
Contribution 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
Reviews and Analyses 2 4 5 1 3
Technical Reports 198 230 251 195 227
Environmental Issues 2 4 1 3 1
Short Communications 6 13 9 7 5
Symposia 30 5 0 35 14
Letters/Replies 0 0 0 0 0
Book Reviews 30 54 27 15 22
Total pages 2408 2428 2480 2168 2262
Avg. length per paper
Reviews and Analyses 32.5 19 11.1 11.6 14.2
Technical Reports 9.5 9.1 8.6 8.3 8.3
Environmental Issues 9.5 8.5 9.8 5.8 12.3
Short Communications 5.0 5.2 5.1 3.3 4.4
Symposia 9.6 7.6 NA 8.3 10.3
Contribution 2000 1999
Reviews and Analyses 3 2
Technical Reports 210 211
Environmental Issues 3 1
Short Communications 5 12
Symposia 28 22
Letters/Replies 0 1
Book Reviews 28 28
Total pages 2136 2100
Avg. length per paper
Reviews and Analyses 8.3 5.7
Technical Reports 7.8 7.8
Environmental Issues 6.7 9.3
Short Communications 4.4 3.5
Symposia 8.5 10.1
Table 2. Percentage of papers published in JEQ submitted from
outside the USA, 2000 to 2005.
Percent international
Issue 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
%
Jan.-Feb. 60 41 43 22 43 20
Mar.-Apr. 32 38 59 40 35 53
May-June 48 64 59 33 45 44
July-Aug. 49 34 13 39 40 39
Sept.-Oct. 33 30 51 33 46 37
Nov-Dec. 28 41 57 46 31 38
Avg. 42 41 47 36 40 38
Six-year overall avg.
41%
Table 3. Hits to the home page journal sites on HighWire Press, April
to September 2005.
Journal title April May June July August
JEQ 9289 8791 8316 8113 8651
Agronomy Journal 9666 9119 8733 8290 9517
Crop Science 12064 12442 11193 10680 12631
SSSAJ 12371 12072 11359 10542 10879
Vadose Zone Journal 3824 3968 3689 3319 3879
Journal title September Avg.
JEQ 9951 8852
Agronomy Journal 9852 9196
Crop Science 12729 11957
SSSAJ 12696 11653
Vadose Zone Journal 4117 3799
Table 4. The percentage of papers with executive summaries for
the 2002 to 2005 issues.
No. of executive summaries
Issue 2002 2003 2004 2005
%
Jan.-Feb. 70 95 93 100
Mar.-Apr. 80 100 98 100
May-June 85 100 100 100
July-Aug. 88 93 100 100
Sept.-Oct. 92 100 100 100
Nov.-Dec. 88 93 98 100
Avg. 84 97 98 100
Table 5. Summary of subscribers for JEQ, 2001 to 2005.
No. of subscribers
Version 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Print 2468 1961 1826 1600 1401
Print and electronic 103 149 194 206 241
Print and CD 118 161 169 168 153
Print, CD, electronic 39 41 57 58 65
CD 41 52 50 53 65
Electronic 39 89 129 156 202
Electronic and CD 57 93 118 173 186
Total subscribers 2865 2546 2543 2414 2313
Table 6. The JEQ time analysis, 2002-2005, as of 29 Oct. 2005.
Year
Measure 2002 2003 2004 2005
avg. no. of days
Editor to TE 1.6 1.4 1.0 1.2
TE to AE 3.3 4.1 3.5 3.7
Assign reviewer 27.4 17.9 15.5 13.0
Days with reviewer 42.3 34.5 31.6 30.8
First recommendation 160.3 124.3 111.7 89.6
Final decision 175.6 133.1 127.4 96.2
Table 7. Data from ISI shows JEQ journal rankings, 1997-2004,
Environmental Science category, 134 journals.
Year Total cites (rank) Impact factor (rank) No. articles (rank)
1997 4147 (8) 2.069 (9) 214 (13)
1998 4836 (9) 2.145 (10) 195 (14)
1999 5433 (9) 2.357 (7) 248 (11)
2000 5434 (10) 1.485 (23) 249 (11)
2001 5407 (12) 1.155 (47) 122 (33)
2002 6891 (11) 1.868 (17) 199 (16)
2003 7815 (11) 1.682 (28) 266 (14)
2004 7937 (12) 1.617 (33) 255 (15)
Table 8. Survey results from accepted papers (n = 71). SA =
strongly agree, A =agree, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree.
Query SA A D SD
% of responses
My manuscript was edited in a timely fashion 54 33 13 0
The reviewers were technically competent 61 37 3 0
The reviewers' comments were helpful 56 42 1 0
The reviewers' comments were respectful 56 38 5 1
The AE or TE provided clear instructions 81 18 1 0
for revisions
The quality of editing was comparable to 59 37 3 1
non-society journals
Manuscript Tracker accommodated the 71 26 4 0
review process
Yes No
Would you recommend JEQ to a colleague? 97% 3%
Table 9. Survey results from rejected papers (n = 14). SA =
strongly agree, A = agree, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree.
Query SA A D SD
% of responses
My manuscript was edited in a timely fashion 23 46 15 15
The reviewers were technically competent 31 46 23 0
The reviewers' comments were helpful 25 58 17 0
The reviewers' comments were respectful 15 69 15 0
The AE or TE provided clear instructions 0 82 2 9
for revisions
The quality of editing was comparable to 17 42 33 8
non-society journals
Manuscript Tracker accommodated the 29 57 7 7
review process
Yes No
Would you recommend JEQ to a colleague? 69% 31%
Table 10. Summary of number of technical papers published in each
subject matter category from 2000 to 2005.
Category Vol. 34 2005 Vol. 33 2004
Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases 14 11
Biodegradation and Bioremediation 12 12
Ecological Risk Assessment 11 8
Ecosystem Restoration 5 5
Ground Water Quality 9 7
Heavy Metals in the Environment 19 31
Landscape and Watershed Processes 15 9
Organic Chemicals in the Environment 21 30
Plant and Environment Interactions 5 11
Surface Water Quality 37 35
Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical
Transport 5 9
Waste Management 36 47
Wetlands and Aquatic Processes 9 10
Category Vol. 32 2003 Vol. 312002
Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases 16 18
Biodegradation and Bioremediation 17 9
Ecological Risk Assessment 7 10
Ecosystem Restoration 9 6
Ground Water Quality 15 6
Heavy Metals in the Environment 37 25
Landscape and Watershed Processes 19 21
Organic Chemicals in the Environment 26 22
Plant and Environment Interactions 18 16
Surface Water Quality 37 24
Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical
Transport 8 7
Waste Management 30 20
Wetlands and Aquatic Processes 12 12
Category Vol. 30 2001 Vol. 29 2000
Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases 13 14
Biodegradation and Bioremediation 15 14
Ecological Risk Assessment 8 4
Ecosystem Restoration 2 9
Ground Water Quality 16 20
Heavy Metals in the Environment 29 26
Landscape and Watershed Processes 15 11
Organic Chemicals in the Environment 25 21
Plant and Environment Interactions 7 10
Surface Water Quality 36 30
Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical
Transport 10 18
Waste Management 38 24
Wetlands and Aquatic Processes 13 8
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| Publication: | Crop Science |
|---|---|
| Date: | May 1, 2006 |
| Words: | 8040 |
| Previous Article: | CSSA yearly reports. |
| Next Article: | Fellows of the Crop Science Society of America: elected 2005. |