Functional Ecology

Aims & Scope

Functional Ecology publishes high-impact papers that enable a mechanistic understanding of ecological pattern and process from the organismic to the ecosystem scale.

Because of the multifaceted nature of this challenge, papers can be based on a wide range of approaches.

Thus, manuscripts may vary from physiological, genetics, life-history, and behavioural perspectives for organismal studies to community and biogeochemical studies when the goal is to understand ecosystem and larger scale ecological phenomena.

We believe that the diverse nature of our journal is a strength, not a weakness, and we are open-minded about the variety of data, research approaches and types of studies that we publish.

Certain key areas will continue to be emphasized: studies that integrate genomics with ecology, studies that examine how key aspects of physiology (e.g., stress) impact the ecology of animals and plants, or vice versa, and how evolution shapes interactions among function and ecological traits.

Ecology has increasingly moved towards the realization that organismal traits and activities are vital for understanding community dynamics and ecosystem processes, particularly in response to the rapid global changes occurring in earth’s environment, and Functional Ecology aims to publish such integrative papers.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	5.1
2024	4.60

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	1535

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	3907

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	1.936

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	191

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Agricultural and Biological Sciences, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• Spatial Scaling in Ecology

  Citation: 3414

  Authors: J. A.

• On the Temperature Dependence of Soil Respiration

  Citation: 3329

  Authors: J., J. A.

• Adaptive versus non‐adaptive phenotypic plasticity and the potential for contemporary adaptation in new environments

  Citation: 3103

  Authors: C. K., J. K., S. P., D. N.

• Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail

  Citation: 2624

  Authors: S., E.

• Trade-Offs in Life-History Evolution

  Citation: 2234

  Authors: S. C.

• Community assembly, coexistence and the environmental filtering metaphor

  Citation: 1304

  Authors: Nathan J. B., Peter B., Oscar, Emily C., Steve, Jonathan M.

• Functional diversity measures: an overview of their redundancy and their ability to discriminate community assembly rules

  Citation: 1241

  Authors: Maud A., Sébastien, Norman W. H., David

• The use of leukocyte profiles to measure stress in vertebrates: a review for ecologists

  Citation: 1190

  Authors: A. K., D. L., J. C.

• Effects of elevated temperature on multi‐species interactions: the case of Pedunculate Oak, Winter Moth and Tits

  Citation: 925

  Authors: A., S. J., R. J. W., C. M., J. E. G.

• Differential fractionation of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N among fish tissues: implications for the study of trophic interactions

  Citation: 786

  Authors: J. K., N. V. C.

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