ImpaQ Ecosystem•Clarivate, Scopus & CORE Data
Clarivate WoS 2024 / 2025 Data
IMPAQ
WoS SCIE Q3Scopus Q1SCImago #5,837Gold OA

Vadose Zone Journal

Acronym:vzj
•
Abbreviation (ISO):VADOSE ZONE J
•
Identifier (ISSN):1539-1663(Print)
•
Publisher:Soil Science Society of America
Clarivate IF (2026)
3.5↑ +0.7
Journal Impact Factor
IF Trend↓
WoS Quartile
Q3
WoS SCIEJCR Quartile
Clarivate WoS JCR
WoS Categories↓
JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for Vadose Zone Journal

WoS Q3
12452.7120183.6320192.520203.2920212.9420222.820232.520242.820253.52026
Annual Impact Factor Metric
Current (2026):3.5
Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1
0.894
#5,837

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025
H-Index (2025)
108

108 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRQ3
Self-Citation Rate4%
Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)
Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.
Volume & Open AccessGold OA
68articles/year
100% Gold OA•98% Original Research

Aims & Scope

Vadose Zone Journal is a unique publication outlet for interdisciplinary research and assessment of the vadose zone, the portion of the Critical Zone that comprises the Earth’s critical living surface down to groundwater. It is a peer-reviewed, international journal publishing reviews, original research, and special sections across a wide range of disciplines. Vadose Zone Journal reports fundamental and applied research from disciplinary and multidisciplinary investigations, including assessment and policy analyses, of the mostly unsaturated zone between the soil surface and the groundwater table. The goal is to disseminate information to facilitate science-based decision-making and sustainable management of the vadose zone. Examples of topic areas suitable for VZJ are variably saturated fluid flow, heat and solute transport in granular and fractured media, flow processes in the capillary fringe at or near the water table, water table management, regional and global climate change impacts on the vadose zone, carbon sequestration, design and performance of waste disposal facilities, long-term stewardship of contaminated sites in the vadose zone, biogeochemical transformation processes, microbial processes in shallow and deep formations, bioremediation, and the fate and transport of radionuclides, inorganic and organic chemicals, colloids, viruses, and microorganisms. Articles in VZJ also address yet-to-be-resolved issues, such as how to quantify heterogeneity of subsurface processes and properties, and how to couple physical, chemical, and biological processes across a range of spatial scales from the molecular to the global.

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)
Geology88.2%Environmental science88.1%Engineering80.9%Biology71.3%Geotechnical engineering69.3%Soil science65%Physics64.1%Ecology62%Soil water49.7%Chemistry47.6%Geography46.1%Materials science41.1%Hydrology (agriculture)39.5%Organic chemistry36.6%Mathematics36.4%Quantum mechanics34.9%Composite material32.6%Thermodynamics30.8%Meteorology26.9%Computer science26.9%Groundwater26%
Primary Research Areas

WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI
JCRSCIE2026

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Q3
Rank206/395
IndexSCIE
JCRSCIE2026

SOIL SCIENCE

Q2
Rank22/48
IndexSCIE
JCRSCIE2026

WATER RESOURCES

Q2
Rank43/132
IndexSCIE
JCISCIE2026

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Q2
Rank197/395
IndexSCIE
JCISCIE2026

SOIL SCIENCE

Q2
Rank23/48
IndexSCIE
JCISCIE2026

WATER RESOURCES

Q2
Rank48/132
IndexSCIE

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year
2026Latest
IF3.5
Articles / Year70
Total Citations17
2025
IF2.8
Articles / Year80
Total Citations185
2024
IF2.5
Articles / Year102
Total Citations553
2023
IF2.8
Articles / Year69
Total Citations507
2022
IF2.945
Articles / Year71
Total Citations747

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #5,837Scopus Q1SCImago Profile
Scopus Coverage:2002-2026
Scopus Broad Areas:Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1
0.894

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1
Citations / Doc (2 years)
3.35

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window
Estimated Publication Fee (APC)
$3,277 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations634
3-Year Documents178
Citable Documents169

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)0

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate31.3%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

Soil ScienceQ1
Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth
Self-citation: 4%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):
3区 (Zone 3)Earth Sciences
Minor Category (Specific Field):
3区ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CAS Early Warning List History:
Updated annually: 2020 – 2024
2020
Not warned
2021
Not warned
2022
Not warned
2023
Not warned
2024
Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

Vadose Zone Journal (acronym: vzj, abbr: VADOSE ZONE J, ISSN: 1539-1663) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Environmental Science, published by Soil Science Society of America in United States since 2002. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 3.50, ranking in quartile Q3 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 0.894 (Q1), an H-index of 108.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with a publication frequency of Monthly, an annual output of approximately 68 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Gold OA model with an estimated APC of $3,277 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.

Publishing & Editorial Information

Detailed publisher, peer-review turnaround, and publication cycle specifications

Open Access Model
Gold OA
Publisher
Soil Science Society of America
Publication Language
English
Frequency
Monthly
Founding Year
2002
Indexing & Databases
SCIEScopusDOAJPubMed
Editorial Address
SOIL SCI SOC AMER, 677 SOUTH SEGOE ROAD, MADISON, USA, WI, 53711

Similar Journals in Discipline

Journals in the same research field with comparable impact metrics

Record UUID: c1014100-c29c-4b14-a272-ba624167a6a2
Database Updated: 2026-10-01