Conflict of Interest Policy

Journal of Soil Science and Environment is committed to ensuring that all manuscripts are evaluated and published through a fair, objective, transparent, and independent editorial process.

A conflict of interest (COI) exists when personal, professional, institutional, financial, or other relationships or circumstances could reasonably be perceived as influencing the objectivity, interpretation, review, editorial decision, or publication of a manuscript.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily mean that the research or manuscript is invalid. However, all relevant conflicts must be disclosed transparently so that they can be appropriately managed.

Responsibilities of Authors

All authors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest related to the submitted manuscript.

Potential conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

• Financial relationships, including research funding, grants, consultancy, employment, honoraria, or other financial support;

• Personal or professional relationships that may influence the research or its interpretation;

• Institutional affiliations or relationships that may benefit from the publication;

• Intellectual property interests, including patents or patent applications;

• Commercial or proprietary interests related to the research;

• Membership of organizations or committees with interests related to the manuscript; and

• Other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the authors' objectivity.

Authors must disclose relevant conflicts at the time of manuscript submission and update the disclosure if circumstances change during the editorial process.

If no conflict of interest exists, authors should explicitly state:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest associated with this manuscript.

Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research and publication.

The funding statement should identify the funding organization, grant or project number where applicable, and describe the role of the funder in the research.

If the funder had no involvement in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication, this should be clearly stated.

Example:

Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must manage manuscripts objectively and independently.

An editor should declare a conflict of interest and refrain from handling a manuscript when the editor:

• Has a personal or professional relationship with one or more authors;

• Is affiliated with the same institution as an author in a manner that could compromise impartiality;

• Has collaborated recently with an author;

• Has a financial or personal interest in the research;

• Has previously supervised or been supervised by an author where this may affect impartiality; or

• Has another relationship or circumstance that could reasonably be perceived as compromising editorial independence.

When an editor has a conflict of interest, the manuscript should be reassigned to an appropriate independent editor.

Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript.

Reviewers should decline the review if they:

• Have a close personal or professional relationship with an author;

• Have recently collaborated with one or more authors;

• Work at the same institution as an author where impartiality may be compromised;

• Have a direct financial or competitive interest in the research;

• Are involved in competing research that could affect their objectivity; or

• Believe that they cannot provide an impartial assessment.

Reviewers must not use information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, financial, or competitive advantage.

Institutional and Collaborative Conflicts

Institutional affiliation alone does not necessarily constitute a conflict of interest. However, a conflict should be disclosed when an institutional relationship may reasonably influence the research, interpretation, editorial process, or review.

Authors involved in multi-institutional or collaborative research should ensure that relevant institutional interests are appropriately disclosed.

Management of Conflicts of Interest

The Journal of Soil Science and Environment evaluates disclosed conflicts on a case-by-case basis.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

• Request additional disclosure from the authors;

• Request clarification regarding the role of a funder or collaborator;

• Assign an independent editor;

• Select alternative reviewers;

• Request additional documentation;

• Publish a conflict-of-interest statement with the article; or

• Take other appropriate measures to protect the integrity and independence of the publication process.

Disclosure of a conflict does not automatically result in manuscript rejection.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication, the journal may investigate the matter and take appropriate corrective action.

Depending on the nature and significance of the conflict, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, in accordance with its publication ethics and post-publication policies.

Transparency

Journal of Soil Science and Environment considers transparency in conflict-of-interest disclosure an essential component of responsible scholarly publishing.

All authors, editors, reviewers, and other participants in the publication process are expected to disclose relevant conflicts honestly and promptly.

The purpose of this policy is to protect the independence of the editorial process, promote trust among authors and reviewers, and maintain the reliability and integrity of the journal's scholarly record.