Table of Contents:

1. Aims & Scope

The journal aims to actively disseminate and publish new research achievements, progress, and trends in the field of grass science. It strives to reflect the highest level of grassland science research in China and is committed to promoting academic exchanges at home and abroad, advancing grassland science, and promoting sustainable development of grassland-based livestock farming.

The journal focuses on both basic theoretical and applied research in grass science. It also encompasses studies on innovative technologies and research that directly contribute to ecological and economic benefits. The research topics covered mainly include grassland science, forage science, turf science, and their related disciplines, addressing issues related to grassland and forage resources, plant protection, grassland management and improvement, forage genetics, breeding and cultivation, forage physiology and biochemistry, grassland construction and ecological protection, grassland production, fodder processing, turf green spaces, grassland economy and strategies for sustainable development.

2. Submission Guidelines

1) Please log in to the online submission system to submit your manuscript. Authors can check the status of their manuscripts on the online submission system.

The editorial department hereby solemnly declares that the journal has never authorized any entity or individual to act as an agent for soliciting manuscripts. When submitting manuscripts, authors are advised to carefully verify the official email address and website of our journal to avoid being deceived. Please be aware that any consequences arising from personal oversight or negligence in this regard are not the responsibility of the journal.

2) When submitting your manuscript, please include a Declaration of No Academic Misconduct and a Statement of No Copyright Disputes. In addition, please specify the affiliations and postal codes for all authors, provide a detailed mailing address, phone number, and email address of the main authors.

3) Since 1996, our journal has been indexed in the China Academic Journals (CD Edition) Electronic Publishing House. It has also been included in the databases of Wanfang Data and China Journal Net since 1999, and in the Chongqing VIP database since 2018. Please be aware that the remuneration provided to authors by our journal encompasses the fees for inclusion in these various databases. No additional payment will be made to the authors.

3. Remuneration

Upon publication of an article, each author will receive a printed copy of the issue. Remuneration of CNY 50 per thousand Chinese characters will also be provided to the authors. To receive payment, authors are required to provide their ID card number and bank account details. If authors have not received the remuneration more than 3 months after publication, please contact us for assistance.

4. Requirements for Manuscripts

The journal accepts manuscripts written in Chinese. The main requirements for manuscript preparation are summarized below. For more specific writing requirements, please refer to the Submission Guidelines (Chinese version) on this website.

Manuscripts should be academic and forward-looking, with authentic, novel, and original content. They should not include confidential information or involve plagiarism or other academic misconduct. The recommended length of manuscripts is around 6,000 to 10,000 Chinese characters. Clear arguments, reliable data, and concise language are essential.

In addition, manuscripts should include title, author information, abstract, keywords, and sections of introduction, materials and methods, results and analysis, discussion, conclusion, and references. Manuscripts should follow a hierarchical outlining format, generally not exceeding four levels. Detailed requirements for each part are as follows:

1) Title: It should be concise and summarize the research content effectively. The title should generally not exceed 24 Chinese characters, without punctuation marks. It should be centered and written in size 2 bold font.

2) Author Information: The author information section should include the names of all authors, their affiliations, fund projects, and author biography, and the corresponding author should be identified. The order of authorship represents the contribution to the article. Starting from January 1, 2019, authors are required to confirm the undisputed copyright of the article during submission. Once an article is accepted, the list and order of authors cannot be changed.

The names of authors should be separated by commas, and the corresponding author should be marked with an asterisk. The email address of the corresponding author should be indicated in the footnote on the first page of the manuscript.

If the authors have different affiliations, Arabic numerals should be added in the upper right corner of their names. The order of affiliations should follow the order of authors.

Affiliation information includes the name of the institution, province, city, and postal code where the institution is located. No abbreviations should be used in the affiliation information.

Information of fund projects generally includes the project type (source type), project name and number, with multiple projects separated by semicolons. The project name is not mandatory. For example, National Natural Science Foundation of China: Decision-making of Herders under the Ecological Compensation Policy (21403272).

Author biography refers to the biography of the first author. The format is as follows: author name (year of birth- ), gender, ethnicity (Han ethnicity can be omitted), birthplace (specific to the city), academic degree or title, research direction, and email address. For example, Author Biography: ZHANG San (1970- ), female (Mongolian), from Baoding, Hebei Province, professor, research focus on genetic resources and breeding of forage grasses, E-mail: zhangsan@caas.cn.

3) Abstract: The abstract should briefly introduce the main research content, results and conclusions. The word count should be controlled within 350-500 Chinese characters.

4) Keywords: Keywords play a crucial role in ensuring that your article is easily retrievable post-publication. Each article should include 3-8 keywords. Please select keywords that do not replicate terms already used in the title or abstract. Keywords should be separated by semicolons.

5) Introduction: The Introduction section primarily serves to contextualize the research. It should outline the research background, summarize relevant existing studies, and articulate the aims and significance of the current work. Key points to address include: the specific subject matter of the research, the rationale behind undertaking this study, an overview of related domestic and international research developments, and the unique contributions of this research.

6) Materials and Methods: This section requires a detailed description of the research subjects and the methodologies applied. It should include comprehensive information about the materials used, such as names, sources, and quantities. The methods segment must cover the experimental design and the specific techniques employed. Experimental design details should encompass the chosen methodology and the number of repetitions. Established test methods previously used can be referenced with appropriate literature citations. For novel methods, the procedural steps must be thoroughly described to enable replication based on this section.

7) Results and Analysis: The focus of this section is on presenting the outcomes of the experiment and analyzing the underlying reasons for these results. Research findings must be objective, thorough, and rigorously presented, including an unbiased depiction of experimental data. The presentation can include graphical and tabular formats, which should be self-explanatory. The analysis should delve deeply into interpreting the results without veering into broader discussions.

8) Discussion: The Discussion section elevates the research findings, extrapolating deeper insights and broader implications. It should extend the interpretation of results, including comparisons with other studies to highlight the uniqueness of this research, address unresolved questions in the field, and propose directions for future research. Discussions must be comprehensive and insightful, going beyond mere comparisons with previous findings.

9) Conclusions: Conclusions should transcend mere data presentation, focusing instead on elucidating the problems highlighted by the data. This section must be succinct, precise, and directly address the core findings of the research.

10) References: This journal utilizes a sequential citation format, arranging references in the order they are cited within the text. For Chinese references, English translations should be provided. References should be limited to works directly cited in the manuscript, rather than an extensive list of related readings. Eligible references include publicly published works, patents, and similar materials.

11) English Abstract and Keywords: The English abstract must be a standalone summary that accurately reflects the content of the Chinese abstract. Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the English title. Names should be presented in Chinese Pinyin, with the surname in uppercase (e.g., ZHANG) and only the first letter of given names capitalized(e.g., Laosan).Institutional affiliations should be comprehensive and precise. For keywords, capitalize the first letter of each term and separate them with semicolons.

12) Figures: Should be self-explanatory, containing all necessary components for understanding without needing to refer to the accompanying text. Numerical data in figures should align with that in the text. Every figure must be cited within the text and presented after the relevant paragraph. Besides in-text inclusion, separate high-resolution image files (jpg or tif format, at least 300dpi) should be provided.

13) Tables: Should follow a three-line structure, with titles and headings in both Chinese and English, though the table content need not be bilingual. Tables must be self-explanatory, enabling understanding without text reference. Data in tables must match that in the text. Reference tables in the text as “as shown in Table 1” or “(Table 1)”, and place them following the corresponding paragraph.

14) Other Notes: ① Latin names of species, when first mentioned, should be annotated and italicized for genus and species; ② Metric units in the text should adhere to international standards (e.g., kg, m, d), with compound units using the “/” format (e.g., kg/m²); ③ Arabic numerals are preferred for numerical representation; ④ Use “~” for hyphens within the text and “-” in English Abstract and reference literature.

5. Editorial & Review Policies

1) Peer Review Type: Our journal employs a double-blind peer review system to ensure impartial and high-quality academic standards.

2) Authors hold responsibility for the content of their manuscripts: Upon acceptance, the journal reserves the right to edit and revise the manuscript in accordance with the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China. This may include language polishing and deletion of certain parts. However, substantial changes to content will only be made with the author's consent. Authors who disagree with proposed changes should provide specific reasons for their objection.

3) Review Process and Timeline: 

• Preliminary Review: Within one week of submission, the editorial department will conduct a preliminary review based on editorial principles, scope, and quality standards.
• Peer Review: Manuscripts passing the preliminary review will be sent to 2~3 peer reviewers. The peer review process typically spans 1-3 months, including time for any necessary second and third review. Reviewers will provide feedback and suggestions for revisions.
• Revised Submissions: Authors are expected to return revised manuscripts within one month. Submissions beyond this deadline will be considered new submissions.
• Final Review: Post peer review, manuscripts undergo a final review stage. After Editorial Board members finish the review, the editorial department will send either a “Receipt Certificate” or a “Rejection Notice” to the author within a week. If no notification is received within four months, authors may handle their manuscripts at their own discretion after notifying the editorial department.

4) Prevention and Handling of Academic Misconduct:

To safeguard against academic misconduct, our journal uses the Anti-Plagiarism Literature Comparison (AMLC) system of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to check manuscripts. This check is performed twice: for manuscripts submitted for the first time, and for accepted manuscripts that are about to be published. The required duplication rate is no more than 10%. If academic misconduct is detected in an accepted manuscript, it will be immediately withdrawn. Similarly, any misconduct identified in published articles will result in immediate retraction.

5) Manuscripts Submitted by the Editorial Board Members or Editors: They also follow all the journal's review and editorial procedures. Peer review is independent of relevant Editorial Board members, editors and their research groups. Editorial Board members and editors shall not participate in the review, editing or acceptance decision-making of manuscripts written by themselves, relatives or colleagues.

6) Appeals: Authors with objections to the review comments can appeal. Authors need to write an “Appeal Letter” stating the manuscript number and send it to our email: zgcdxb@126.com. The letter must detail the reasons for appeal and provide a comprehensive and reasonable explanation of the objections to the review comments. The editorial department will decide on a case-by-case basis to accept the appeal.

7) Corrections and Retractions: Both online and print published articles are considered final versions. The journal generally does not correct or retract published articles. Corrections or retractions may be made when necessary, as described below:

• Corrections: If a published article is found to contain unintentional scientific errors that do not significantly affect results and conclusions, the editorial department will promptly publish the Notice of Correction detailing changes made to the original text and source. The journal will release a revised version of the article explaining changes made in detail and noting the update date. The previous version will also be archived and accessible to readers, but the latest version should be used for citation and reference.
• Retractions: If a published article is found to have serious scientific errors that render the results and conclusions unreliable, the editorial department will proceed with a retraction. Additionally, if academic misconduct is suspected in a published article, the editorial department will initiate an investigation and issue a statement to inform readers of the risks associated with the article. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the results will be made public. If academic misconduct is confirmed, the editorial department will retract the article and issue a retraction statement.

8) Data Sharing: The journal encourages authors to publicly release and share research data where appropriate. Data sharing facilitates experimental validation and reuse of data. Typically, shareable data includes raw data, observation records, experimental results, etc. The journal also encourages the sharing of software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials used in the research. Authors may upload these data and materials to open third-party storage platforms and provide access links at the end of the articles.

9) Post-publication Discussion: We welcome discussion between authors and readers regarding articles published in our journal. Comments can be sent to our email: zgcdxb@126.com. The editorial department will process promptly and provide feedback as appropriate. We welcome readers and authors to actively provide feedback on our journal and articles to jointly cultivate a positive academic atmosphere.

6. Copyright and Archiving

1) Copyright Policy: All authors publishing articles in our journal are required to sign a “Copyright Transfer Agreement and Author Declaration”, transferring the copyright of the article to the editorial department of Chinese Journal of Grassland. The copyright will belong to the editorial department, including but not limited to the rights of reproduction, distribution, compilation, translation, and information network dissemination. The editorial department also has the right to license the above rights to third parties. Authors who disagree should specify during submission. If a submitted manuscript is ultimately not published in our journal, the aforementioned agreement will become automatically invalid.

2) Right of Authors: For article published in our journal, the author(s) of the article has the following rights: ① The author(s) may quote or translate partial content from the article in his/her subsequent works, or compile the article in a non-periodical collection, but should note the year, volume, issue, and page number of the article in the Chinese Journal of Grassland; ② The author(s) can also use the article for other activities permitted and authorized by the editorial department.

3) Online Archiving of Articles: In addition to the journal's official website, articles published in the journal is fully archived in the databases of CNKI, Wanfang Data and Chongqing VIP. Readers can also access the above databases or platforms to access our articles online.