Best open-access journals for Global and Planetary Change

1. 1
   Ecological Indicators

   7.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
2. 2
   Earth s Future

   6.2 cites/paper · Q1 · American Geophysical Union

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3. 3
   Hydrology and earth system sciences

   5.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Copernicus Publications

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4. 4
   International Journal of Digital Earth

   4.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5. 5
   GIScience & Remote Sensing

   4.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
6. 6
   Environmental Challenges

   4.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV

   Open AccessDOAJScopusPubMed
7. 7
   Natural hazards and earth system sciences

   4.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Copernicus Publications

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
8. 8
   Remote Sensing

   3.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9. 9
   Conservation Letters

   3.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley

   Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
10. 10
    Environmental Research Letters

    3.7 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11. 11
    Journal of Water and Climate Change

    3.7 cites/paper · Q1 · IWA Publishing

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
12. 12
    Frontiers in Climate

    3.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
13. 13
    People and Nature

    3.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14. 14
    Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

    3.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
15. 15
    Geomatics Natural Hazards and Risk

    3.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
16. 16
    Environmental and Sustainability Indicators

    3.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
17. 17
    Land

    3.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
18. 18
    Geocarto International

    3.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Taylor & Francis

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
19. 19
    Fire

    3.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
20. 20
    Hydrology research

    3.0 cites/paper · Q1 · IWA Publishing

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
21. 21
    Ecology and Society

    2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Resilience Alliance

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
22. 22
    Forests

    2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23. 23
    Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies

    2.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
24. 24
    Trees Forests and People

    2.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
25. 25
    ICES Journal of Marine Science

    2.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
26. 26
    Hydrology

    2.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27. 27
    Nonlinear processes in geophysics

    2.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Copernicus Publications

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
28. 28
    Environmental Research Communications

    2.1 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29. 29
    Journal of Flood Risk Management

    2.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
30. 30
    Journal of Political Ecology

    1.6 cites/paper · Q1 · University of Arizona

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31. 31
    自然资源学报

    1.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Journal of Natural Resources

    Open AccessDOAJScopus
32. 32
    Climate

    3.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33. 33
    Mediterranean Marine Science

    1.6 cites/paper · Q2 · Hellenic Centre for Marine Research

    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
34. 34
    Advances in geosciences

    1.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Copernicus Publications

    Open AccessDOAJScopus
35. 35
    Aquatic Living Resources

    1.3 cites/paper · Q2 · EDP Sciences

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
36. 36
    The Forestry Chronicle

    1.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Canadian Institute of Forestry

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
37. 37
    Advances in Meteorology

    1.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
38. 38
    Natural Resource Modeling

    1.1 cites/paper · Q3 · Wiley

    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
39. 39
    Scientia Marina

    1.0 cites/paper · Q3 · Spanish National Research Council

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
40. 40
    Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research

    0.7 cites/paper · Q3 · Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.