Journal of Arid Land (in English)----Xinjiang Institute of Geography and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

The arid and semiarid lands of the world occupy an area of a third of the global terrain. These lands have abundant resources and vast developing landscapes, but eco-environmental issues caused by unsustainable development. Now this potential and the problems of arid and semiarid areas are getting adequate attention by academia and the international communication on the findings of arid and semi-arid land research is more active. Xinjiang, as a typical representative of China’s arid and semiarid land, with natural looks and diverse ecosystems, is a focus for concern by international community and academia. However, so far there has been no scientific journal in English in Xinjiang, which has restricted the flow of scientific information that could have ensured the exchange on arid land in western China with the rest of the world.

Therefore, we earnestly present you with the new journal, Journal of Arid Land (JAL) which aims to meet the needs of sustainable development and eco-environmental management for arid lands, and to strengthen international academic exchange and cooperation.

JAL is an international journal in the natural sciences, covering various fields, sponsored by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Science Press and China Society of Natural Resources, published by Science Press and Springer. The members of the Editorial Board come from many countries, and contributions for JAL are invited from all over the world, addressing the issue to many places. JAL is a bimonthly journal with 6 issues a year.

On July 2011, JAL was selected for coverage in SCIE and Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology & Environmental Sciences, beginning from the initial issue in 2009 (website: www.isiknowledge.com). According to the ISI Journal Citation Reports, the impact factor of JAL in 2014 is 0.931. JAL has also been abstracted or indexed internationally by Scopus, Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience Abstracts (CAB Abstracts) in the UK, VINITI Abstracts Journal (РЖ) in Russia, Index Copernicus (IC) in Poland, Cambridge Science Abstract (CSA) and Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (UPD) in the USA. The full text is embodied by Chinese Core Journals (Screening) Database and the China Academic Journals Integrated Online Database. JAL is currently available online at jal.xjegi.com and www.springer.com/40333.　　

JAL publishes original, innovative, and integrative research in arid and semiarid regions, addressing various aspects in geography, geology, pedology, hydrology, biology, ecology and meteorology. The following topics are covered:

(1) The dynamics of natural resources, including water, soil/land, organisms and climate and the security and sustainable 　development of natural resources, the environment and the ecology, especially for central Asia;

(2) The interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere, and the relationship between these natural processes and human activities;

(3) Patterns of geography, ecology and environment; Ecological improvement and environmental protection;

(4) Regional responses and feedback mechanisms to global change;

(5) Reviews, brief communications, trend and book reviews of work in the aforementioned subjects.

The following types of manuscripts are considered for peer-reviewed publication in JAL.

Research Articles: Before writing a manuscript, author(s) should refer to the latest research results from the world to ensure manuscripts reach an international and advanced level. All articles must report original, innovative and complete results. Generally, research articles (including figures and tables) should not exceed 12 printed pages with an abstract of 300 to 500 words.

Reviews: Summarize progress in core scientific disciplines, detail the research status, and include suggestions for future studies. The author(s) must be familiar with the topic and have several years of relevant research experience. Review articles should not exceed 15 pages.

Brief Communications: Report novel and innovative findings in natural sciences. Manuscripts of this type should be short with a brief abstract.

News and book review: Report important scientific news, information, and academic affairs, including the introduction and commentary of recent outstanding monographs, as well as significant international conferences held in China.

The JAL Editorial Board is composed of about sixty world-renowned experts and scholars, of which 36.5% are foreign scientists. Since JAL was founded in 2009, scientists and researchers have contributed work from arid and semiarid areas in the world. Through December 2013, foreign authors have accounted for 36% of the papers published, and 19% of the authors belonging exclusively to foreign organizations in countries such as USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Sudan.

We warmly and sincerely welcome contributions and orders from institutions, scientists and scholars who apply themselves to arid and semiarid land researches and the planning and managing departments, officials and engineers that engage in resource use and sustainable development. Authors are requested to read through the style guide for the journal.

We are confident that, through our hard work and with your concern and support, JAL will become an international journal with an important influence on resource utilisation, environmental management and sustainable development in arid and semiarid lands.

Tel: +86-991-7885369; Fax: +86-991-7885320

E-mail: xjjal@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Address: 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China

Website: http://jal.xjegi.com