1. Peer Review System
Ecology and Environmental Sciences ensures its academic quality of the journal through a strict peer review system. The peer review is conducted in a single-blind manner, meaning that no information about the peer reviewers is disclosed to the authors.

2. Responsibilities of Authors
Each author must ensure that they have made a substantive academic contribution to the paper, agree on the order of authorship, and consent to submit the manuscript to this journal.

(1) Authorship Qualifications
The following individuals are qualified to be authors:

• Those who have made significant contributions to the conception, ideas, topic selection, design, or acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
• Those who have written the manuscript or revised its key content;
• Those who have thoroughly reviewed and confirmed the manuscript and finalized it for publication;
• Those who agree to take responsibility for all aspects of the work and ensure that any issues regarding the accuracy or research integrity of any part of the manuscript are investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should not be listed as authors; however, with their consent, they may be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgments” section. For group authorship, all group members must meet the above criteria, take responsibility for the quality, accuracy, and ethics of the manuscript, and all authors must participate in determining the order of authorship.

(2) Originality of the Manuscript
Authors shall ensure that the content of the manuscript is original and that they own the intellectual property rights. The manuscript shall not have been published domestically or internationally, and does not involve plagiarism, fabrication, or duplicate submissions. The manuscript must not involve any breach of confidentiality or other copyright-related problems. Any works and/or text of others used in the manuscript must be cited as references. The editorial office screens all submissions using the AMLC system developed by CNKI.

(3) Conflicts of Interest
When submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors shall disclose all financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that may bias their research results or manuscript preparation.

(4) Corrections
When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published manuscripts, especially those that are unintentional, they are obliged to promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate with the office in retracting the manuscript or publishing an appropriate “Correction” notice.

3. Responsibilities of Editors/Editorial Board Members (EBMs)
To ensure the fairness, reasonableness, and effectiveness of the peer review process, journal editors must adhere to the following academic ethical standards:
(1) Editors/EBMs shall handle each manuscript fairly, impartially, and promptly. Decisions to accept or reject a manuscript shall be based solely on the scientific quality, originality, readability, and relevance of the manuscript to the journal's scope.
(2) Editors/EBMs shall not show bias based on the authors’ institutional affiliation, gender, professional title, or academic honors.
(3) Editors/EBMs shall maintain confidentiality not only for the authors’ research content, but also for the information and comments of peer reviewers.
(4) Editors/EBMs shall not allow conflicts of interest to influence the peer review process and must ensure that reviewers provide independent assessments.
(5) For reviewers recommended by authors, editors/EBMs shall carefully verify the accuracy of their information, confirm that their academic background aligns with the manuscript’s topic, and check for potential conflicts of interest with the authors. Editors should prudently decide whether to send the manuscript to the recommended reviewers. Editors should honor authors’ requests to exclude certain reviewers when sufficient reasons are provided. 
(6) Editors/EBMs shall avoid assigning manuscripts to reviewers with conflicts of interest (e.g., co-workers, colleagues, classmates, relatives). They shall also recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest (e.g., involvement in research and academic writing, or classmates or relatives of the authors).
(7) Editors/EBMs shall protect the integrity of published records by issuing corrections or retractions when necessary, and by addressing any suspected misconduct or inappropriate behavior in research and publication.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers
During the peer review process, reviewers shall adhere to the following ethical standards:
(1) Upon receiving a review invitation, reviewers should first understand the journal’s scope and review requirements. They should assess whether their expertise and research focus match the manuscript. If not, reviewers should promptly and clearly inform the editor and suggest alternative reviewers.
(2) Reviewers should consider their availability and determine whether they can submit their review within the designated timeframe. If they are unable to do so, they should promptly notify the editor or negotiate an acceptable review timeline to avoid delays.
(3) Reviewers should uphold academic integrity and respect academic freedom. They shall use their expertise and sound judgment to provide honest, objective, and fair evaluations of the manuscript, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, and offer timely, reasonable, and constructive feedback. Reviews should avoid unverified or malicious criticism, unfair content, or unfounded accusations.
(4) Reviewers should examine any potential conflicts of interest related to the manuscript. If any competing interest exist, they must promptly inform the editor and declare all relevant interests to avoid any conflicts of interest. If uncertain whether a relationship constitutes a potential conflict affecting impartial review, reviewers should consult the editor for guidance.
(5) Reviewers shall maintain confidentiality throughout the peer review process and after completing the review, avoiding disclosure of the manuscript or any related information to unauthorized parties.
(6) Reviewers shall not be influenced by the source of the manuscript, the authors’ nationality, institution, race, religion, political beliefs, gender, or other external factors, and shall avoid being driven by commercial interests.
(7) Reviewers shall not assign the manuscript to others (e.g., colleagues, students) for review without permission from the journal editorial office.
(8) Reviewers shall check for academic misconduct in the manuscript, including duplicate publication, plagiarism, data falsification, or fabrication. If reviewers suspect any such issues, they should promptly notify the editor and supply relevant evidence.
(9) Reviewers may only suggest adding references that are directly relevant to the research content of the manuscript. They should not recommend citations solely to increase citation counts or visibility for themselves or their colleagues.
(10) After submitting their review comments, if reviewers obtain information that could affect their original feedback or recommendations, they should promptly contact the editor. After publication, if any issues or potential conflicts of interest not found during peer review are discovered, reviewers should promptly inform the editorial office.

5. Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Except for language checking and proofreading, AI models and tools must not be used for manuscript writing; all scientific contributions and intellectual work must be completed by humans, and AI cannot be listed as an author. If AI models or tools are used in the research for data processing or analysis, authors must provide a detailed description of their use in the “Methods” section and assume full responsibility for any AI-generated content, including any violations of publication ethics or infringement. The editorial office prohibits the use of AI in manuscript evaluation, decision-making, or communication with authors. During the review process, manuscripts and supplementary materials will not be uploaded to any public AI platform to avoid infringement, privacy breaches, or confidentiality risks.

6. Advertisement
This journal does not publish commercial advertisement for now. 

[Reference] China Association for Science and Technology. Publication Ethics Guidelines for Scientific Journals. Beijing: China Science and Technology Press, 2019.