ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EDITOR, AMERICN JOURNAL OF BOTANY - 2008

• The current editorial staff includes Ms. Amy McPherson (Managing Editor), Mr. Richard Hund (Production Editor), Dr. Sophia Balcomb (Assistant Editor/Content Editor), and Dr. Beth Hazen (Manuscript Editor).  Sincere thanks to reviewers, Associate Editors, and the Editorial Staff for their diligent work on behalf of the AJB over the past year.
• The complete switch to Dartmouth Journal Services and Sheridan Press as the compositor and printer of AJB, and EditorialManager as the online manuscript submission and tracking system took place in January, 2008 (Volume 95, Number 1).  Thanks to staff, authors, reviewers and Associate Editors for their hard work and patience during this time.  It wasn't fun, but we survived. 
• All communications (electronic, mail, and telephone) should be directed to the Editorial Office, which is located in St. Louis, at the BSA headquarters at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  The address is American Journal of Botany, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO  63166-0299; tel. 314-577-5112; fax 314-577-9515; email to: ajb@botany.org; www.amjbot.org).  If you return paper copies of reviews or marked manuscripts, please send them to St. Louis, not to Davis. 
• Associate Editors (AEs) are integral to the publication process.  Their responsibilities include suggesting reviewers, reading and evaluating manuscripts and reviews, and making recommendations for the EiC’s final decision. 
• Volume 96 (2009) will include a special issue, " The Abominable Mystery: The Origin and Early Diversification of Angiosperms," several special papers about scientific literacy for the "Year of Science," and special papers about current research in the areas of Charles Darwin's book titles (twining plants, domestication of plants and animals, power of movement in plants, and insectivorous plants). 
• Suggestions for special paper topics and books reviews are encouraged.  Please contact Darleen DeMason (demason@ucr.edu) for special papers and Michael Christianson (mxianson@pacbell.net) for book reviews.
• The impact factor for the American Journal of Botany fell from 2.969 in 2006 to 2.512 in 2007; the Journal’s impact factor ranking dropped from 16 to 26.  This was not unexpected, since the popular 2004 special issue no longer counted in the 2007 ratings.  We continue to work to improve AJB's standing, importance, and value to authors, readers, libraries, and funding bodies. 
• We continue working to bring more AJB papers to the wider notice of scientists, educators and the public. It is to the advantage of the authors and the journal to have explicitly stated in the abstract and elsewhere why they did the research they did, what major question in biology in general or botany in particular their research addressed; why anyone outside the specific discipline of the paper should care about the results; and how knowledge of general principles and mechanisms of biology is expanded by publication of this paper.  The answers to these questions should appear in the abstract, in part because we intend to use the first sentences of the abstract as RSS feeds, and also to attract readers who might not be specialists in the sub-discipline of the research.  
• Authors have two opportunities to submit an acceptable manuscript to AJB:  the original submission and one revision.  If the revised manuscript is deficient in any way other than typos and very minor details, it is declined for publication. 
• There continues to be a moving one-year wall for open access to all AJB content.  BSA members and subscribing institutions have immediate access to all current and all past AJB content. 
• Comments and suggestions are always welcome from readers, authors, reviewers, staff, and Associate Editors.  E-mail to ajb@botany.org.    

AJB Statistics

Manuscript Types and Processing Time

Manuscript Categories Submitted to Journal

Decisions on Manuscripts

Respectfully submitted, Judy Jernstedt, Editor-in-Chief

Amy McPherson, Managing Editor