On 14 December 2012, the electronic version of the Volume 5, Number 1 of Journal of Arid Land (JAL) is showed at Springer’s online information platform SpringerLink (http://link.springer.com/journal/40333). This is a successful beginning of the cooperation between the sponsors of JAL and Springer. From now on, Springer will exclusively publish the electronic version and print version of JAL outside MainlandChina.

Dr. YE Lu, editorial director at Springer’sBeijingoffice, said, “We are honored that the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG), Chinese Academy of Sciences and Science Press have chosen to work with us. Our online information platform SpringerLink will help disseminate the journal to a global audience.”

Professor CHEN Xi, director of the XIEG and editor-in-chief of JAL, said, “We are glad to collaborate with Springer on this journal. We believe that the partnership will improve communication among ecologists, geographers and resources-environmental researchers and enhance the impact of the journal internationally.”

Launched in 2009, JAL is co-sponsored by XIEG and Science Press. JAL provides a platform for high-quality research papers from all over the world in the fields of geography, geology, pedology, hydrology, biology, ecology and meteorology in arid and semiarid regions all the time. During the past four years, JAL has being insisted on an international development approach and raised the international impact quickly.

Springer is a leading global scientific publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R & D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer’s online information platform SpringerLink is one of the most popular electronic publication platforms in the global scientific and technological publishing market. The cooperation between the two sides will largely improve the international impact of JAL and help the journal to attract more high-quality research results.