PeerJ Open Advances in Plant Science: Shaping the Future of Plant Research and Unlocking OA

We’re excited to announce the launch of PeerJ Open Advances in Plant Science, a new journal committed to addressing the most pressing challenges to plant science through innovative, high-quality research and commentary. As part of the PeerJ Open Advances series, this new journal prioritizes openness, collaboration, and equity, making participation in scientific communication accessible to all by being free to read and free to publish.

Led by Editors-in-Chief Professors Ana Ribeiro-Barros and Luis Eguiarte, PeerJ Open Advances in Plant Science is committed to addressing the most pressing challenges in plant science through innovative, high-quality research and commentary.

PeerJ Open Advances in Plant Science publishes impactful work that responds to one of the journal’s Global Challenges, which are defined and owned by dedicated Associate Editors. Articles and contributors will be grouped by Global Challenge, building a corpus of research and commentary – and a community – that contributes to answering key questions and overcoming obstacles to completing that Challenge. We welcome proposals of new Challenges. Every research article will be accompanied by comprehensive peer-review reports and Impact Statements highlighting how the research addresses the key questions posed.

The journal launches with five Challenges:

Resilience Strategies: Adaptation of Wild and Cultivated Plants to Climate Change and Human-Induced Environmental Stressors

Unraveling the Evolutionary Dynamics Driving Plant Biodiversity, Speciation, and Adaptation to Environmental Change

New Insights into the Underlying Mechanisms Governing Plant-Microbe Interactions and their Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences

Advancing Climate-Smart Crop Conservation and Innovations for Sustainable Production

Plant Resilience: Soil Microbial Interplay in Extreme and Disturbed Ecosystems Amidst Climate Change

Two more Challenges – addressing new technologies in plant science, and plant evolution – will be announced in the coming months.

“I have been an Academic Editor for PeerJ since 2014, and I am extremely excited to participate in this new series of journals. I deeply believe in the importance of open science and transparent peer review processes, avoiding cliques and mafias of power. I am particularly delighted to launch an open journal that will never charge for publishing; this can be a game-changer for scientists in poor countries of the Global South and elsewhere. I am enthusiastic to work with Ana, as I believe that our approaches complement each other in a wonderful way, while sharing a view of what is important in science for a changing world.” – Co-Editor-in-Chief Luis Eguiarte

We believe that what sets PeerJ Open Advances in Plant Science apart is its commitment to equity. There are no author fees, ensuring that financial barriers don’t hinder the dissemination of critical research. This commitment, combined with our transparent publication process and a scope defined by the plant science community, ensures that research with the potential to impact the world is available to everyone, regardless of location or affiliation.

“The journal’s aim is to provide a collaborative forum for new ideas, and to generate networks of researchers working on the most pressing questions in the field of plant research, in order to address challenges concerning topics of a global scale.” – Stephen Johnson, Publishing Editor of the Open Advances Series

As part of PeerJ’s Open Advances series, PeerJ Open Advances in Plant Science champions openness, collaboration, and equity in scientific communication. Our mission is to empower researchers to contribute to solving the world’s most pressing problems by providing a platform for high-quality research that is freely accessible to all.

Explore the journal.