About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The journal is founded and published by the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering (EDRPOU 02071116; publisher DOI prefix: 10.31713).

ROR of the founder: https://ror.org/00ppfcz28

Print ISSN: 3154-8059

The journal is published quarterly (four issues per year).

Identifier in the Register of Print Media Entities: R30-2590 (Decision of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine No. 2182 dated 27 June 2024).

All issues and individual articles are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) with the prefix 10.31713/vs.

Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Series “Agricultural Sciences” is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes original results of fundamental and applied research in the field of agriculture.

Year of establishment: 1999.

Based on the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 24 September 2020 No. 1188, the journal is included in the List of Professional Scientific Publications of Ukraine (Category “B”) in the field of Agricultural Sciences (101 – Ecology, 201 – Agronomy).

Scientific profile of the cluster:

N1 “Agronomy”
N4 “Forestry”
N5 “Aquatic Bioresources and Aquaculture”
N7 “Agroengineering”

Languages of publication: Ukrainian (primary), English, Polish.

The aim of the scientific journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Agricultural Sciences is to publish research findings and ensure their independent peer review in accordance with established academic standards.

The journal is intended for academic and research staff, doctoral and postgraduate students, as well as practitioners in the field of agricultural sciences, and for all those interested in current issues and research findings in relevant fields.

The objectives of the journal are:

to present current research findings in the field of agricultural sciences;
to promote the development of interdisciplinary research;
to facilitate scholarly exchange among researchers, academic staff, students, and practitioners;
to support the implementation of research findings into practice;
to ensure adherence to the principles of academic integrity and publication quality;
to broaden access to contemporary scientific knowledge in relevant fields.

The scientific journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Series “Agricultural Sciences” is registered and indexed in national databases:

V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine
Crossref (Cross-linking / Crossref metadata system)
National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine

Peer Review Process

The author submits to the editorial board an article that meets the requirements of the journal's policy and the rules for preparing articles for publication. Manuscripts that do not meet the accepted requirements are not registered and are not allowed for further consideration, and their authors are notified accordingly. The article is registered by the responsible secretary in journal's article registration log indicating the date of receipt, title, author(s)' full name, and author(s)' affiliation. An individual registration number is assigned to the article.
The responsible secretary conducts a preliminary evaluation of the articles received by the editorial office, for correspondence of the content of the material to the journal's subject matter, sends them for review to the members of the editorial board, scientific editors of the sections, and experts on the stated problems.
All manuscripts submitted to the editorial board are sent according to the research profile to one, and if necessary, to two reviewers. Reviewers are appointed by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal. According to the decision of the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine (for certain tasks), the appointment of reviewers can be entrusted to a member of the editorial board. In some cases, the issue of selecting reviewers is decided at a meeting of the editorial board.
The peer reviewers for the articles can be both members of the editorial board of the scientific journal and external highly qualified experts who possess profound professional knowledge and experience in a specific scientific field, typically holding doctoral degrees and professorships.
After receiving the article for consideration (within 4 days), the reviewer evaluates the possibility of reviewing materials based on his own qualifications in the author's field of research and identifies any conflict of interests. If there are any competing interests, the reviewer can refuse to review and inform the editorial board about it. The last question concerns the appointment of another reviewer
The reviewer, as a rule, makes a conclusion about the possibility of printing the article within 14 days. The review period may vary in each individual case depending on the conditions of the formation results for the most objective assessment of the quality of the submitted materials, but should not exceed 1 calendar month.
Peer-review is conducted confidentially following the principles of double-blind peer-review, when neither the author nor the reviewer knows about each other. Іnteraction between authors and reviewers is carried out through the responsible secretary of the journal. At the request of the reviewer with the approval of the working group of the editorial board, the interaction between the author and the reviewer can take place in an open mode (decisions can be made only if the openness of the interaction improves the style and logic of the presentation of the research material).
For all articles submitted for review, the level of uniqueness of the author's text is determined using the appropriate software that shows the level of uniqueness, sources and matches of the text («StrikePlagiarism.com»).
After the final analysis of the article, the reviewer fills out a standard form (Review Form), which contains final recommendations. The editorial office notifies the author of the results of the review by e-mail.
If the reviewer indicates the need to make certain adjustments to the article, the article is sent to the author with a proposal to take the comments into account when preparing an updated version of the article or to refute them with arguments. To the revised article, the author adds a letter that contains answers to all comments and explains all the changes that were made to the article. The revised version is provided to the reviewer for making a decision and preparing a reasoned conclusion about the possibility of publication. The date of acceptance of the article for publication confirms the data for the editorial office to obtain a positive opinion of the reviewer (or the decision of the editorial board) regarding the feasibility and publication of the article.
In case of disagreement with the opinion of the reviewer, the author of the article has the right to submit a reasoned answer to the editorial office of the journal. In this case, the article is discussed at a meeting of the working group of the editorial board. The editorial board may decide to send the article for additional or new review by another expert. The editorial board reserves the right to reject articles if the author is unable or unwilling to consider the suggestions and comments of the reviewers. At the reviewer's request, the editorial board can provide the article to another reviewer while ensuring adherence to the principles of blind review.
The final decision regarding the possibility and expediency of user publication is made by the еditor-in-сhief (or, on his behalf, by a member of the editorial board), and, if necessary, by a meeting of the editorial board as a whole. After making a decision to accept an article for publication, the responsible secretary notifies the author and indicates the expected publication date.
In case of receiving a positive decision about the possibility of publication, the article is sent to the journal's editorial portfolio for publication in order of priority and relevance (in some cases, at the decision of the еditor-in-сhief, the article may be published out of sequence, in the nearest issue of the journal).
The final decision on the composition of the published articles is recorded in the protocol of the meeting of the Scientific Council of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, which is noted on the second page of the magazine cover.
The article approved for publication is submitted to the technical editor. Minor stylistic or formal corrections that do not affect the content of the article are made by the technical editor without agreement with the author. If necessary or at the request of the author, manuscripts in the form of an article layout are returned to the author for approval.
The author of the article is responsible for copyright infringement and non-compliance with current standards in the materials of the article. Both the author and the reviewer are responsible for the reliability of the given facts and data, the validity of the conclusions and recommendations, the scientific and practical level of the article.

Frequency of publication

Collection of scientific works «Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering» Series «Agricultural Sciences» is published quarterly (4 times a year).

Publication Ethics and Editorial Policy

The editorial policy of the scientific journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Series “Agricultural Sciences” is based on the principles of academic integrity, scientific objectivity, transparency, and responsibility.

The journal adheres to international standards of publication ethics, including the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), and is governed by the current legislation of Ukraine as well as internal regulatory documents of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering.

Core Principles

The editorial board ensures an impartial review of manuscripts; evaluates submissions solely on their scientific merit; guarantees confidentiality; upholds editorial independence; and does not allow discrimination.

The editorial board reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not correspond to the journal’s scope or requirements, as well as to carry out editorial editing of submitted texts.

Peer Review

The journal applies a single-blind peer review model.

Manuscripts may be rejected without peer review if they do not meet the journal’s scope or basic requirements.

Reviewers provide objective evaluations; maintain confidentiality; disclose conflicts of interest; and do not use unpublished materials for personal advantage.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors are required to submit original work; avoid plagiarism; refrain from simultaneous submission to other journals; properly format references; ensure data accuracy; obtain agreement from all co-authors for publication; and disclose any conflicts of interest.

Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their manuscripts.

Editors’ Responsibilities

Editors make decisions based on peer review reports; ensure compliance with ethical standards; guarantee confidentiality; and avoid conflicts of interest.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts objectively; provide reasoned assessments; report possible ethical violations; and decline review assignments in case of conflicts of interest.

Prevention of Misconduct

The editorial board conducts plagiarism checks, peer review, and scientific expertise.

Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of information in published articles, including names, references, and citations, in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine (Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”).

Authors are also responsible for obtaining copyright permissions for the reproduction of illustrations, tables, and figures taken from other authors and/or sources. Such permissions must be indicated below each respective item.

In case of violations, COPE guidelines are applied.

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest may arise due to financial, institutional, or personal relationships. A conflict of interest is considered to exist when individuals involved in the editorial process are in relationships—personal or otherwise—that could potentially compromise their objectivity, interfere with impartiality, or influence decisions related to publication.

All participants in the publication process are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect objectivity. The corresponding author, designated by the co-authors as responsible for communication with the editorial office, must declare any conflicts of interest on behalf of all authors.

If an author is the Editor-in-Chief or a member of the editorial board:

they do not participate in the peer review process;
they do not participate in editorial decision-making;
in case of a conflict of interest involving the Editor-in-Chief, the issue is reviewed with the participation of two members of the editorial board;
if necessary, an independent guest editor is appointed;
the final decision is made by a person without a conflict of interest.

Any conflict of interest statements submitted by authors, reviewers, or editors are considered by the responsible editor and/or the Editor-in-Chief. In the case of substantiated claims involving a conflict of interest with the Editor-in-Chief, such issues are reviewed with the participation of two members of the editorial board.

Compliance with COPE, WAME, DORA, etc.

The editorial board of the journal adheres to international standards of publication ethics and academic integrity, including the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), and the principles of Open Access and FAIR data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Core Principles of the Journal

ensuring transparency of editorial processes and peer review;
maintaining academic integrity (preventing plagiarism, falsification, and duplicate publication);
editorial independence and absence of conflicts of interest;
clear definition of authorship and author responsibilities;
procedures for handling complaints, corrections, and retractions;
objective and timely peer review;
support for responsible research assessment principles;
promotion of open science, open access, and FAIR data principles.

The journal evaluates articles based on their content rather than metrics; does not use Impact Factor as a criterion; and does not encourage citation manipulation.

The editorial board reserves the right to update this policy in accordance with international standards.

Policy on Ethical Approval

The scientific journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Series “Agricultural Sciences” complies with the provisions of current legislation of Ukraine and is guided by the principles and recommendations of international organizations in the field of publication ethics and academic integrity, including COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), WAME (World Association of Medical Editors), and DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment).

The journal upholds high standards of ethical conduct in research involving humans, animals, their biological materials, as well as in studies involving personal, confidential, or other sensitive data.

Mandatory Ethical Approval Requirement

An official ethical approval is required in particular when research:

involves human participants as respondents, survey subjects, interviewees, observation participants, experimental subjects, or other forms of research interaction;
involves the use of human or animal biological materials;
includes research involving animals;
involves the collection, processing, analysis, or publication of personal, confidential, or other sensitive data;
falls under other specific requirements of Ukrainian legislation or institutional regulations.

Author Requirements

In such cases, authors are required to:

include an “Ethical Statement” section in the manuscript, providing details of the ethical approval, including the full name of the issuing ethics committee, the date of approval, and the protocol or document number;
confirm that informed consent of participants (where applicable) was obtained voluntarily, properly, and in an understandable form;
ensure anonymity and confidentiality of personal data throughout the research and publication process.

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

The scientific journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Agricultural Sciences recognises the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as an auxiliary tool in the preparation of scholarly publications, provided that the principles of academic integrity, transparency, and authorial responsibility are strictly observed.

The use of AI tools is permitted for:

language editing and improvement of text style;
grammar, spelling, and formatting checks;
searching for and systematising publicly available information;
auxiliary data analysis, subject to subsequent verification by the author;
preparation of tables, figures, and technical elements of the manuscript.

The use of AI is not permitted for:

generating research results, data, or conclusions without their actual acquisition by the author;
substituting the author’s contribution in problem formulation, methodology, analysis, and interpretation of results;
producing fully or predominantly AI-generated scientific manuscripts;
falsification or distortion of data, sources, or research findings.

Authors bear full responsibility for the content of submitted manuscripts, irrespective of the use of AI tools. Any use of artificial intelligence that has had a substantial impact on the preparation of the manuscript must be clearly disclosed, including a description of the nature of such use.

The editorial board reserves the right to screen submissions for inappropriate use of AI and to reject manuscripts in cases of breaches of academic integrity principles.

Open Access Policy

The journal adheres to an Open Access policy, providing immediate and free access to all published materials and supporting the principles of the unrestricted dissemination of scientific knowledge and the global exchange of information for the benefit of society.

The journal supports the principles of Open Science and follows international standards for research data management. Authors are encouraged to make their research data openly available in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Authors submitting manuscripts based on empirical or computational research should ensure the availability of the datasets used or generated during the study. Authors are encouraged to deposit their data in institutional, national, or international research data repositories (such as Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad, Mendeley Data, Open Science Framework (OSF), institutional repositories, or similar platforms), provide open access to data whenever possible (except where ethical, legal, or other justified restrictions apply), and include references to the datasets through a DOI or another persistent identifier assigned by the repository.

Type of licensing for the use of copyrighted materials

The journal adheres to an open access policy. All scientific publications are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License International (CC-BY-NC). Authors retain copyright to their works while granting the journal the right of first publication. Any use of the materials is permitted provided that proper attribution to the original source is given.

Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Policy

The journal ensures the long-term preservation and open access to published materials by archiving them in the institutional repository of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering.

All issues of the journal are available in the university repository at:
https://ep3.nuwm.edu.ua/view/subjects/vns/

The university repository functions as an open electronic archive of scientific and educational materials, providing their free dissemination, indexing, and long-term storage. The repository supports the international metadata harvesting protocol OAI-PMH, which enables integration with global scientific databases and search engines.

The technical infrastructure of the repository is based on specialized software (EPrints).

Availability is ensured through:

unrestricted open access to materials;
compliance with open archive standards;
storage of materials on the university’s server infrastructure;
the possibility of long-term preservation and data recovery.

Retraction Policy

An article may be retracted in cases of data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, duplicate (redundant) publication, significant errors affecting the reliability of research results, authorship violations, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other forms of unethical research or publication misconduct.

Retraction decisions are made by the Editorial Board in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) following a careful examination of concerns raised by editors, authors, reviewers, readers, or other interested parties.

Procedure for Handling Complaints Regarding Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

The journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Agricultural Sciences Series adheres to the principles of academic integrity and publication ethics in accordance with the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Complaints regarding possible violations of academic integrity (including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, or conflicts of interest) may be submitted in writing to the Editorial Office by any interested party.

Upon receiving a complaint, the Editorial Office:

registers the complaint and acknowledges its receipt to the complainant;
conducts a preliminary assessment of the submitted materials;
if necessary, initiates an additional investigation, including repeated peer review or verification using plagiarism detection software;
may involve independent experts or members of the Editorial Board in reviewing the case.

The Editorial Office ensures that all parties have the opportunity to provide explanations and additional materials during the review process.

Decisions regarding complaints are made by the Editorial Board based on the available evidence and in accordance with the principles of impartiality, confidentiality, and academic integrity.

If a violation is confirmed, the Editorial Office may:

reject the manuscript at any stage of the review process;
retract a published article;
notify the author's institution(s) of the identified misconduct;
apply other measures in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and international ethical standards.

All procedures are conducted confidentially and without disclosure of personal data of the parties involved in the complaint review process, except where required by applicable law.

The Editorial Office seeks to review complaints and reach decisions as promptly as possible, taking into account the complexity of each case.

Procedure for Retraction of a Published Article

The journal Bulletin of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Agricultural Sciences Series follows international ethical standards established by COPE and adheres to the principles of academic integrity.

A retraction may be initiated by an author, editor, reviewer, reader, or any other interested party.

To initiate a retraction procedure, a written request stating the grounds for retraction and providing supporting evidence must be submitted to the Editorial Office. Applicants may use the Publication Retraction Form available on the journal's website.

The decision to retract an article is made by the Editorial Board following an investigation of the circumstances of the case.

Where appropriate, the Editorial Office may publish a Correction, an Expression of Concern, or a Retraction, depending on the nature and severity of the identified issues.

In the event of retraction, the article remains available online with a clear indication of its retracted status and the reason for retraction. In such cases:

a watermark stating “Retracted” is added to the electronic version of the article;
the title of the publication is changed to “Retracted: [Article Title]”;
a separate retraction notice is published, stating the reasons for the retraction and, where applicable, assigned its own DOI.

These measures are intended to ensure transparency in editorial processes, preserve the integrity of the scholarly record, and maintain trust in published research.