Recently, the Basic Capacity Building Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced the results of the 2024 Elite Journals Project selection. Arid Zone Research has been included in the "CAS Pilot Project of Elite Journals – Chinese Elite Journals".
The CAS Pilot Project of Elite Journals is a program initiated by the Basic Capacity Building Bureau of CAS based on the CAS 2030 Scheme for Building World-Class Scientific Journals and the 2024 Selection Plan for Pilot Projects of Elite Journals. After two rounds of evaluation, including expert letter reviews and panel discussions, 25 English journals and 40 Chinese journals were ultimately selected for funding. Arid Zone Research successfully made the cut, with a funding period of two years. This marks the second time that Arid Zone Research has received a major journal-related funding project from CAS, following its inclusion in the "2020 CAS Science Publishing Fund's Selective Support Program for Chinese Scientific and Technological Journals".
Founded in 1984, Arid Zone Research primarily publishes innovative research papers, thematic reviews and commentaries, research methodologies, and applications of new technologies in the fields of water, soil, biology, climate, and the environment within arid regions. Since its inception, the journal has closely adhered to its mission, providing in-depth coverage of scientific issues such as adaptation strategies for fragile ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas in response to climate change, oasis ecosystem development, and advancements in oasis science. It has actively established itself as a comprehensive academic publication with a distinct arid-region focus.
Here, we express our heartfelt gratitude to our supervising entity, CAS, our sponsoring units, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, and the Soil Science Society of China, as well as our publisher, Science Press, for their unwavering support. We are also deeply thankful for the funding provided by the CAS Pilot Project of Elite Journals, and for the continued attention and support from our editorial board, review experts, and all authors and readers. The editorial department, together with the editorial board, will continue to provide scholars in the field of arid zone research with even better publishing services and academic exchange platforms!