Call for Proposals: Special Issues

Call for Proposals: Special Issues

The Journal of Integrated Sciences and Agriculture (JISA) invites proposals for thematic Special Issues addressing significant scientific, technological, environmental, agricultural, health, and societal challenges through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches.

Special Issues provide an opportunity to bring together researchers from different scientific and professional backgrounds to develop an integrated body of scholarship around a common challenge, emerging field, technology, methodology, or research agenda.

JISA particularly welcomes proposals that cross disciplinary boundaries, integrate complementary perspectives, and contribute to practical and scientific solutions for complex agricultural and societal challenges.

Themes of Interest

Proposals may address, but are not limited to:

Agriculture and Biological Sciences

  • Sustainable agricultural systems
  • Crop and plant sciences
  • Animal and livestock sciences
  • Soil health and soil management
  • Agricultural biotechnology
  • Agricultural microbiology
  • Food science and technology
  • Plant–microbe interactions
  • Agricultural innovation

Environment and Natural Resources

  • Climate change and agricultural resilience
  • Biodiversity and conservation
  • Ecosystem management
  • Natural-resource management
  • Water security
  • Land degradation and restoration
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Ecosystem services

Science, Engineering and Technology

  • Agricultural and biosystems engineering
  • Precision agriculture
  • Digital agriculture
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Remote sensing and geospatial technologies
  • Internet of Things and smart farming
  • Robotics and automation
  • Data science and computational agriculture
  • Renewable energy and agricultural systems
  • Emerging technologies

Food, Nutrition and Health

  • Food security
  • Food safety
  • Food systems
  • Nutrition
  • Agriculture and public health
  • One Health
  • Livestock and human health
  • Environmental health
  • Agriculture–health interactions

Social Sciences, Economics and Policy

  • Agricultural economics
  • Agricultural policy
  • Rural development
  • Environmental economics
  • Rural livelihoods
  • Governance and institutions
  • Science, technology and society
  • Agricultural innovation systems
  • Policy and development

Integrated and Emerging Themes

  • Climate–food–water–energy nexus
  • Circular economy and bioeconomy
  • Sustainable development
  • Resilient food systems
  • One Health
  • Agriculture–environment interactions
  • Digital transformation
  • Science-policy integration
  • Interdisciplinary approaches to global challenges
  • Emerging technologies and their societal implications

JISA particularly encourages proposals built around genuine interdisciplinary integration, rather than simply grouping papers from unrelated disciplines under a broad theme.

Who Can Propose a Special Issue?

Special Issue proposals may be submitted by:

  • University researchers and faculty members
  • Scientists and research teams
  • Professors and senior academics
  • Early-career researchers with appropriate expertise
  • Research institutes
  • Interdisciplinary research networks
  • International collaborations
  • Conference organizers
  • Research project teams
  • Policy and development organizations working with relevant research communities

Proposals should identify one or more qualified Guest Editors with appropriate expertise in the proposed theme.

What Should a Proposal Include?

A Special Issue proposal should normally include:

  1. Proposed title
  2. Theme and background
  3. Rationale and significance
  4. Objectives
  5. Key research questions or thematic areas
  6. Interdisciplinary rationale
  7. Relevance to JISA's aims and scope
  8. Proposed Guest Editor(s)
  9. Affiliations and brief biographies of Guest Editors
  10. Potential contributing authors, where available
  11. Potential manuscript topics or provisional titles
  12. Expected number of manuscripts
  13. Proposed timeline
  14. Relevant conference, research project, network, or institutional initiative, where applicable

Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are expected to:

  • Develop the scientific and thematic framework of the Special Issue;
  • Promote the Call for Papers through appropriate academic networks;
  • Encourage high-quality interdisciplinary submissions;
  • Help identify suitable independent reviewers;
  • Support rigorous and impartial peer review;
  • Maintain confidentiality and research integrity;
  • Manage conflicts of interest appropriately;
  • Work closely with the JISA editorial team; and
  • Help ensure thematic coherence and scientific quality across the Special Issue.

All manuscripts submitted to a JISA Special Issue remain subject to the journal's standard editorial screening, ethical requirements, and double-blind peer-review process.

Guest Editors must not bypass normal editorial procedures or guarantee acceptance of manuscripts.

What Makes a Strong Special Issue Proposal?

JISA particularly welcomes proposals that:

  • Address a significant scientific or societal challenge;
  • Bring together complementary disciplines;
  • Have a clear and coherent intellectual framework;
  • Encourage meaningful integration of methods, evidence, or perspectives;
  • Address emerging scientific or technological developments;
  • Have international or cross-regional relevance;
  • Can attract high-quality contributions from diverse research communities; and
  • Have potential to generate new knowledge, methods, technologies, or integrated solutions.

Submit a Special Issue Proposal by email to jisa@ageconfrontiers.com 

JISA accepts Special Issue proposals throughout the year.

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

  • Scientific significance;
  • Interdisciplinary value;
  • Originality and timeliness;
  • Relevance to JISA's scope;
  • Scholarly quality;
  • Potential to attract high-quality contributions;
  • Expertise of the proposed Guest Editors; and
  • Feasibility of the proposed Special Issue.

We invite researchers from diverse disciplines to propose Special Issues that advance integrated scientific understanding and develop innovative solutions for agriculture, environment, food, technology, health, and society.