image: Scientists measuring land surface roughness for soil moisture retrieval from Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, as featured on this Vadose Zone Journal cover. view more
Credit: <I>Vadose Zone Journal</I>
Dissemination of scientific knowledge has undergone a major transformation in the past decade. The public that funds research and development expects the findings to be freely available and accessible to all.
Subsequently, many publishers of scientific journals have embraced the concept of Open Access (OA), thereby making scientific content and results available to society without the need for membership or subscription to a specific journal.
On January 1, 2018, the Vadose Zone Journal (VZJ) will switch from the subscription format to a fully Open Access journal. This process has been initiated by the VZJ editorial board and carefully prepared over the past three years. The transition of VZJ to an Open Access journal was approved at the May 2017 meeting of the Soil Science Society of America's Board of Directors.
The Open Access transition will meet the expanding requirements of many science funders in the US and across the world, to make research results accessible to the scientific community and the public without restrictions.
The VZJ editorial board is confident that the transition will increase the international visibility of VZJ, broaden the submission base and increase accessibility to many scientists and institutions in developing countries.
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