About the Journal

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1. Aims and Scope of the Journal

The Journal of Ecological Society is a double blind peer-reviewed, open access, international scholarly journal available in online form Our aim is to offer research, analysis and perspectives in the field of ecological conservation and management of natural resources, to scientists and civil society. The journal invites submission of research papers and essays which showcase a variety of perspectives in this domain and invites contributions which employ an interdisciplinary approach and strong scientific analysis.

 

The subjects of interest are (but not limited to) ecosystems, nature services, natural resources, land use, environmental economics, arguments for change, recommendations in policies, implications of urbanization and issues arising from man-nature interactions.

The Journal continues to cater to a wide variety of audience ranging from civil society in general to researchers and practitioners in this field. While scientific rigour is expected in the research papers, essays and short pieces based on opinions and perspectives will be encouraged.

The journal is printed once a year for which a call for papers is issued. The online edition of the journal will be updated once in three months. Submissions for the online edition can be sent throughout the year. Online edition undergoes the same review process as print edition. Upon acceptance the article will be made available on the digital edition of the Journal.

 

2. Structure of the Journal

The Journal accepts the following types of articles for publication:

• Research papers – These will be typically up to 6000 words, based on a strong methodology on a subject of interest for the Journal. Research papers are subjected to a double blind peer review process.

• Essays, opinion pieces – These are shorter and could be up to 3000 words. We seek essays which analyze, elucidate or present a perspective on topics of interest to the journal. These will be subjected to an open-review by the editorial team.

• Book reviews – A list of books will be displayed on the journal website. Reviews for these books are solicited. The review must not exceed 1500 words and must critically review the book. Submissions of book reviews are subjected to an open-review by the editorial team.

• Notes & communication – Short pieces not exceeding 1500 words on field observations, alumni activities and any other pieces of interest are invited. Could be rapid communication of significant findings in an original research also. Submissions to this section are sent to experts in respective fields for their recommendations.

Referencing for all the above submissions – Please use the APA referencing style. Refer to these sites https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/apa

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3. The review and acceptance process
The journal takes an objective and constructive approach to peer review. Research papers submitted to the journal undergo the double-blind peer review process. Research papers first undergo a ‘desk review’ by the editorial team to evaluate its fit and relevance to the journal objectives, use of interdisciplinary approach and methodology. Upon successful desk review, two reviewers are assigned for each submission for a double blind review. The identity of the reviewers and the authors are not disclosed to either party. The reviewers are independent experts. Based on the reviewer’s comments, the editor will inform the decision of ‘as is acceptance’, ‘rejection’ or ‘acceptance on conditions’ to the author. Submissions for the other sections will be reviewed by our editorial team.

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4. Submission checklist

 

Submissions are accepted throughout the year in electronic form as a WORD document only. We do not accept PDF formats. Please ensure your submissions meet the following editorial requirements. One WORD document must be submitted. The document should have this sequence:

 

• Page 1 : Title of the paper – a short title which aptly describes the central theme of the paper.

• Page 2 : Author names with one author designated as the corresponding author. Email, postal address and telephone numbers of all authors. Affiliation of each author to an organization. A short profile of each author (not more than 50 words each).

• Page 3: Abstract of not more than 150 words. Six keywords to represent the subject(s) of interest in the article.

  • If applicable, a statement / acknowledgment of funding agency.

  • Any other acknowledgements.

• Next pages: The main paper with numbered pages in sequence.

• Note: All diagrams, tables, figures, photographs should be in their place within the paper.

• Note : Author names will only be mentioned on Page 2 of the document and may not be typed anywhere else in the document.

 

5. Ethical guidelines for authors
The following guidelines apply to all authors of any type of submission.

• The journal expects that author(s) submit original work which does not infringe on the intellectual rights of any other person or organization. Upon acceptance, the authors will provide a signed statement to this effect.

• It is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure the correctness and accuracy of data in their work.

• The submission must cite all relevant publications. Information obtained privately must be fully cited with the permission of that party. The journal will utilize open-source plagiarism checking engines to verify the submission for originality.

• Author(s) must follow national and internationally accepted procedures governing experimentation on humans and animals. Research reported in the paper must be ethical and responsible and in compliance with all relevant legislation.

• Where applicable, the author(s) must provide information about funding of the research.

• Where figures, diagrams or photographs are used from copyrighted sources the author(s) must obtain written permission from the publisher of the journal, book or website for use in their work. An appropriate credit line should be included at the figure or table and full publication information should be included in the reference list.

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5. Open access publishing

All articles published in the Journal of Ecological Society are made permanently available online to anyone, anywhere, at any time with no subscription or access fee being charged. The Ecological Society may also publish a printed copy of the journal for circulation. In both the cases, copyright is retained by the author. The journal is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. 

The authors are encouraged to place their articles on their own institutional or public domain repositories for greater visibility.

 

Co-Editors-in-Chief

Swati Gole, PhD. Chairperson, Ecological Society, Pune.  
Aparna Watve, PhD. Founder Trustee Biome Consultants, IUCN SSC Red List Coordinator for Western Ghats Plant Specialists Group.

Associate Editors
Gurudas Nulkar, PhD. Trustee Ecological Society; Member Secretary CCP, Pune International Centre; Adjunct faculty, Symbiosis International University.  

 

Editorial Board

Prof. S.D.Mahajan, Former Head of Botany Department, Shivaji University
Vishwas Sawarkar, Former Director, Wildlife Institute of India, Member, Steering Committee, Conservation of Tigers, co-Predators and Prey, Govt. of Maharashtra at Forest Service
Himanshu Kulkarni, PhD. Founder Director, ACWADAM, Adjunct Faculty, Center for Public Affairs & Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University.
Sanjeev Nalavade, PhD. Former Head of Geography Department, Fergusson College
Girish Sohani, Principal Advisor & Trustee, BAIF. 
Mandar Datar, PhD. Scientist, Agharkar Research Institute. 

 

Editorial Assistance

Suhas Sapatnekar
Smitha Sanjeev Naik