You are here

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

An International Review of Geographical Work in the Natural and Environmental Sciences

eISSN: 14770296 | ISSN: 03091333 | Current volume: 48 | Current issue: 1 Frequency: Bi-monthly

PPG: Earth and Environment is an international journal, encompassing an interdisciplinary approach incorporating the latest developments and debates within Physical Geography and interrelated fields across the Earth, Biological and Ecological System Sciences. Contributions which review progress to date; which blend review material with new and original findings; or which introduce material, methods or techniques at the forefront of current knowledge, while setting directions for future work are welcomed. Authors need not be uncritically exhaustive in synthesizing research on a particular topic but should concentrate on what they consider to be the most promising recent productive trends and developments which are likely to be transformative.

This prestigious journal covers all aspects of:

  • Geomorphology
  • Climatology
  • Biogeography & landscape ecology
  • Human-environment interaction

PPG has an Editorial Board (there are currently eight EB members), which is supported by an international Editorial Advisory Board (EAB). It is published six times per year in paper format and - in Online First - continuously in electronic format.

PPG: Earth and Environment is available to browse online.

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

The journal aims to achieve the widest possible international coverage and should consider the relevance of tangential or parallel developments to their fields. In addition, authors are encouraged to evaluate the general significance of research to date, including practical and policy applications where relevant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing Editor
Karen Anderson University of Exeter, UK
Editors
Helene Burningham University College London, UK
Rob Francis King’s College London, UK
Daehyun Kim Seoul National University, South Korea
Nikolaus J. Kuhn University of Basel, Switzerland
Jian Peng Peking University, China
Sarah Praskievicz University of North Carolina Greensboro, USA
Associate Editor
Jayne Brian Freelance Editorial Office, UK
Former Editors
Bruce Atkinson Queen Mary, University of London, UK
Louise Bracken Northumbria University , UK
David Butler Texas State University, USA
Nick Clifford Loughborough University, UK
Erle Ellis University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
Andrew Goudie University of Oxford, UK
George Malanson University of Iowa, USA
Paul Mather University of Nottingham, UK
Jennifer Miller University of Texas, Austin, USA
Lynn M. Resler Virginia Tech, USA
Phillip Stott SOAS, University of London, UK
Steve Trudgill University of Cambridge, UK
David Warner U.S. Geological Survey, USA
Brent Yarnal Penn State University, USA
David Zhang University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Editorial Advisory Board
Louise Bracken Northumbria University , UK
Erfu Dai Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Carlo Donadio University of Naples, Italy
Thomas W. Gillespie University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Julia Hall Meteoceanics, Portugal
Saskia Keestra Wageningen University,The Netherlands
Daehyun Kim Seoul National University, South Korea
Stuart Lane University of Lausanne, Switzerland
George Malanson University of Iowa, USA
Hans Middelkoop Utrecht University, Netherlands
Alexandra Ponette-Gonzales University of Utah, USA
David Porinchu University of Georgia, USA
Duccio Rocchini University of Bologna, Italy
Daniel Schillereff King's College London, UK
J. Anthony Stallins University of Kentucky, USA
Stephen Tooth University of Aberystwyth, UK
Lunche Wang China University of Geosciences, China
John W. Williams University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Xiaoping Yang Zhejiang University, China
David Zhang Guangzhou University, China
  • ASTIS Bibliography
  • ASTIS Current Awareness Bulletin
  • Academic Search Premier
  • Agroforestry Abstracts
  • Aquaref
  • C-CIARN (The Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network)
  • Cab Abstracts
  • Current Contents / Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences
  • Current Contents/Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences
  • Ecological Abstracts
  • Ecology Abstracts
  • Environment Abstracts
  • GEOBASE
  • Geo Abstracts: Human Geography
  • Geographical Abstracts: Physical Geography
  • Georef
  • Grasslands and Forage Abstracts
  • IBZ: International Bibliography of Periodical Literature
  • IBZ: International Bibliography of Periodical Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • ISI Custom Information Services
  • ISI Discovery Agent
  • International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature on the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • International Development Abstracts
  • Irrigation and Drainage Abstracts
  • Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts
  • Middle East Abstracts & Index
  • Pollution Abstracts
  • Science Citation Index
  • Science Citation Index Expanded
  • Scopus
  • Soils and Fertilizers - Abstracts of World Literature

Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pipg to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of PPG: Earth and Environment will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.

  1. What do we publish?
    1.1 Aims & Scope
    1.2 Article types
    1.3 Writing your paper
  2. Editorial policies
    2.1 Peer review policy
    2.2 Authorship
    2.3 Acknowledgements
    2.4 Funding
    2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
    2.6 Data
  3. Publishing policies
    3.1 Publication ethics
    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
    3.3 Open access and author archiving
  4. Preparing your manuscript
    4.1 Formatting
    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
    4.3 Supplementary material
    4.4 Reference style
    4.5 English language editing services
  5. Submitting your manuscript
    5.1 ORCID
    5.2 Information required for completing your submission
    5.3 Permissions
  6. On acceptance and publication
    6.1 Sage Production
    6.2 Online First publication
    6.3 Access to your published article
    6.4 Promoting your article
  7. Further information

1. What do we publish?

PPG: Earth and Environment is an international journal, encompassing an interdisciplinary approach incorporating the latest developments and debates within Physical Geography and interrelated fields across the Earth, Environmental, Biological and Ecological System Sciences. Contributions which review progress to date; which blend review material with new and original findings; or which introduce novel research methods or techniques at the forefront of current knowledge, while setting directions for future work, are welcomed. Authors need not be uncritically exhaustive in synthesizing research on a particular topic, but should concentrate on what they consider to be the most promising recent trends and developments which are likely to be transformative.

1.1 Aims & Scope

The journal aims to achieve the widest possible international coverage and authors should consider the relevance of tangential or parallel developments to their fields. In addition, authors are encouraged to evaluate the general significance of research to date, including practical and policy applications where relevant.

This prestigious journal covers all aspects of:

  • Geomorphology
  • Climatology
  • Biogeography & landscape ecology
  • Human-environment interaction

General advice on submission process and aspects of formatting should be addressed to Jayne Brian, Associate Editor, PPGJournal@sagepub.com.

1.2 Article Types

Please read the article type classifications carefully as these have recently been updated - some of the older article types have been replaced and new ones have been introduced.

Research Articles

Articles should be 5000-7000 words in length, including footnotes, but excluding references.  Up to 8 figures can be included. Supplementary information can be included.

If you require further advice regarding the suitability of your article, please contact the most relevant subject editors:

Karen Anderson: Remote sensing, LiDAR, field spectroscopy, eco-hydrology

Helene Burningham: Geomorphology, coasts, GIS

Rob Frances: Aquatic ecology, urban environments, landscapes

Klaus Kuhn: Geomorphology, soils, remote sensing, Mars

Jian Peng: Ecosystem services, land-use, urbanisation, climate

Sarah Praskievicz: climate-change impacts, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology

Daehyun Kim: biogeography, biogeomorphology, spatial analysis 

Review Articles

Reviews of up to 5000 words are invited. These can include up to 5 figures and comprise synthetic reviews in physical geography, covering topics that are timely, interesting and accessible. Authors are encouraged to write their reviews in a style that can engage a broad audience.

Technical Articles

This submission category provides a forum to showcase new methods and approaches that can be applied to the study of physical geography.

Collaborative Perspectives

Contributions of up to 5000 words, and 5 figures are invited. These should be intra- or inter-disciplinary, multi-authored pieces, tackling a topic on physical geography from different perspectives. For example, this could be a human and a physical geographer working together in a landscape to explore diverse interpretations, or a physical geographer and an artist collaborating on a public exhibition.

Geography Classics

Contributions of up to 3000 words, with a maximum of 3 figures, are invited. These should be led by an early-stage researcher. These articles should edidence the evolution of current thinking or methodological developments in physical geography from historical underpinnings.

Resource Reviews

Book reviews of up to 1000 words are invited. These can consider traditional academic texts, but reviews of popular books that are related to the field of physical geography are also encouraged. Reviews of other types of resources (e.g. online and media), will also be considered.

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

Back to top

2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

•  The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors

•  The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper

•  The author has recommended the reviewer

•  The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution). 

2.2 Authorship

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

2.3.1 Third party submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

  • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
  • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
  • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.4 Funding

PPG: Earth and Environment requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

PPG: Earth and Environment encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

2.6 Data

Sage acknowledges the importance of research data availability as an integral part of the research and verification process for academic journal articles.

PPG: Earth and Environment requests all authors submitting any primary data used in their research articles alongside their article submissions to be published in the online version of the journal, or provide detailed information in their articles on how the data can be obtained. This information should include links to third-party data repositories or detailed contact information for third-party data sources. Data available only on an author-maintained website will need to be loaded onto either the journal’s platform or a third-party platform to ensure continuing accessibility. Examples of data types include but are not limited to statistical data files, replication code, text files, audio files, images, videos, appendices, and additional charts and graphs necessary to understand the original research. The editor(s) will also grant exceptions for data that cannot legally or ethically be released. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical Review Board requirements and applicable government regulations. For further information, please contact the editorial office.

Back to top

3. Publishing Policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.1.1 Plagiarism

PPG: Earth and Environment and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3 Open access and author archiving

PPG: Earth and Environment offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

Back to top

4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

4.1 Formatting

The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.  

Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

4.3 Supplementary material

This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files

4.4 Reference style

PPG: Earth and Environment adheres to the Sage Harvard reference style. View the Sage Harvard guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

For a sample page of references from PPG: Earth and Environment please click here.

If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Harvard EndNote output file.

4.5 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

Back to top

5. Submitting your manuscript

PPG: Earth and Environment is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pipg to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

All papers must be submitted via the online system. If you would like to discuss your paper prior to submission, please refer to the contact details below.

When preparing your paper:
- Use the minimum of formatting.
- Roman, bold and italic type can be used, but only one typeface and size should be used.
- Capitals should be used only where they are to appear in the finished text.
- Headings and paragraphs should be separated by two carriage returns.
- There should be only one space between words and only one space after any punctuation.

For more detailed guidance please click here to review guidelines on Sage House Style.

5.1 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities ensuring that their work is recognised.

The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

Back to top

6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Sage Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice. 

Back to top

7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the PPG: Earth and Environment editorial office as follows:

Dr Jayne Brian

E-mail: ppgjournal@sagepub.com

 

Institutional Print subscription inclusive of free online access

Subscription Information

 

To subscribe to this journal or to purchase single/back issues, please contact Customer Service - Journals: customerservicejournals@sagepub.in  +91 (11) 4063 9222 extn 406


To purchase bundled content, backfiles or any other electronic products, please contact: journalsales@sagepub.in


For exciting offers and deals, write to: jmarketing@sagepub.in