Open Access Policy

1. Commitment to Open Access

Plant Science Horizons is a fully open access, peer-reviewed journal committed to the unrestricted dissemination of scientific knowledge. All articles published in the journal are freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription, registration, or payment barriers.

The journal supports the principle that scientific research should be accessible to the global community, including researchers, students, practitioners, policymakers, and the general public, regardless of geographic or economic constraints.

2. Immediate and Free Access

All published content is made available under an immediate open access model, meaning that:

  • articles are accessible without embargo
  • users can read, download, and share content freely
  • there are no subscription fees or paywalls

This approach ensures rapid dissemination of research findings and promotes greater visibility and impact of published work.

3. Licensing Terms

All articles in Plant Science Horizons are published under the:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Under this license:

  • users may read, download, copy, and redistribute the material for non-commercial purposes
  • proper credit must be given to the original author(s) and source
  • a link to the license must be provided
  • the material must not be modified, adapted, or transformed

Any use beyond these terms, including commercial use or modification, requires permission from the copyright holder.

4. Author Rights

Authors retain full copyright of their work. By publishing in the journal, authors grant the publisher a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and archive the article in all formats and media.

Authors are free to:

  • share their published work
  • deposit their articles in repositories
  • use their work for academic and non-commercial purposes

This ensures that authors maintain ownership while benefiting from wide dissemination.

5. User Rights

Users of the journal’s content are permitted to:

  • access and read articles freely
  • download and store content
  • share articles with others
  • use content for educational and research purposes

Users must:

  • provide proper attribution
  • not use content for commercial purposes
  • not modify or alter the original work

6. Archiving and Preservation

To ensure long-term accessibility, all articles are archived in recognized digital preservation systems, including:

  • PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN)
  • institutional repositories
  • other archiving platforms where applicable

These systems ensure that published content remains permanently available, even in the event of technical or organizational changes.

7. Compliance with Open Access Standards

Plant Science Horizons aligns its open access practices with international standards and recommendations for open science and scholarly communication. The journal aims to meet the requirements of major indexing and abstracting services and supports transparency in licensing, accessibility, and data sharing.

8. Article Processing Charges (APC)

The journal may charge Article Processing Charges (APCs) to cover the costs associated with editorial management, peer review, production, hosting, and archiving.

  • APC details are clearly stated on the journal website
  • any applicable waivers or discounts are communicated transparently
  • APCs do not influence editorial decisions

All manuscripts are evaluated solely on scientific merit, regardless of the authors’ ability to pay.

9. No Commercial Influence

The open access model of the journal operates independently of commercial influence. Editorial decisions are not affected by funding, sponsorship, or advertising. The journal maintains strict separation between editorial and financial processes.

10. Promotion of Knowledge Sharing

By adopting an open access model, Plant Science Horizons promotes:

  • global accessibility of scientific knowledge
  • increased collaboration among researchers
  • faster dissemination of research findings
  • higher citation and impact potential
  • support for education and innovation

11. Updates to Policy

This Open Access Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in publishing practices, legal requirements, or technological developments. Any updates will be published on the journal website.

12. Final Statement

Plant Science Horizons is committed to advancing open science by ensuring that all published research is freely accessible, ethically managed, and widely disseminated, contributing to the global exchange of scientific knowledge.