The impact of journals over the short and the long term is often quite different. ScienceWatch.com presents journal impact factors based on the longer term impact of journals in environmental science and environmental studies.
Below are rankings in environmental science for between 1998 and 2007, which only include journals cited over 10,000 times between 1998-2007.
| Rank | Journal | Papers | Citations | Citations/ Paper |
| 1 | Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution & Systematics | 131 | 15,293 | 116.74 |
| 2 | Nature | 395 | 41,042 | 103.9 |
| 3 | Science | 397 | 34,568 | 87.07 |
| 4 | Trends in Ecology and Evolution | 727 | 39,356 | 54.13 |
| 5 | Ecological Monographs | 309 | 11,310 | 36.6 |
| 6 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA | 491 | 17,088 | 34.8 |
| 7 | Systematic Biology | 416 | 12,194 | 29.31 |
| 8 | Ecology | 3,161 | 80,313 | 25.41 |
| 9 | Ecology Letters | 1,133 | 26,327 | 23.24 |
| 10 | The American Naturalist | 1,618 | 36,694 | 22.68 |
| 11 | Conservation Biology | 1,729 | 36,209 | 20.94 |
| 12 | Environmental Health Perspectives | 3,374 | 70,023 | 20.75 |
| 13 | Molecular Ecology | 3,345 | 69,275 | 20.71 |
| 14 | Ecological Applications | 1,711 | 34,899 | 20.4 |
| 15 | Journal of Ecology | 1,081 | 20,969 | 19.4 |
| 16 | Global Change Biology | 1,508 | 27,995 | 18.56 |
| 17 | Journal of Applied Ecology | 1,162 | 21,032 | 18.1 |
| 18 | Oecologia | 3,219 | 56,010 | 17.4 |
| 19 | Ecosystems | 705 | 12,199 | 17.3 |
| 20 | Environmental Science & Technology | 10,006 | 171,816 | 17.17 |
note: The data for the multidisciplinary journals listed – Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of the USA – take into account only those articles that have been classified by Thomson Reuters as ecology and environmental sciences papers.
And, using a slightly different system, journal rankings in Environmental Studies. Note the contrast in short and longer term rankings. It is unclear whether these are due to changes in the journal over time, or speed of citation.
| Rank | 2007 Impact Factor | Impact 2003-07 | Impact 1981-2007 |
| 1 | Ann. Rev. Envir. Res. (4.04) |
Ann. Rev. Envir. Res. (7.60) |
J. Envir. Econ./Mgmt. (14.66) |
| 2 | Global Envir. Change (3.92) |
Global Envir. Change (4.74) |
Environ. & Planning-D (13.13) |
| 3 | Energy Policy (1.90) |
J. Envir. Econ./Mgmt. (3.80) |
Environment & Behavior (11.25) |
| 4 | Environ. & Planning-D (1.81) |
J. Envir. Psychology (3.49) |
Land Economics (10.37) |
| 5 | Regional Studies (1.80) |
Int. Region. Sci. Rev. (3.41) |
J. Leisure Research (10.20) |
| 6 | Harvard Env. Law Rev. (1.78) |
Landscape Urban Plan. (3.13) |
J. Envir. Psychology (9.72) |
| 7 | Environ. & Planning-A (1.73) |
Environ. & Planning-A (3.01) |
Global Envir. Change (8.54) |
| 8 | Int. Region. Sci. Rev. (1.72) |
Res. & Energy Economics (2.80) |
Regional Studies (8.06) |
| 9 | Landscape Urban Plan. (1.63) |
Land Economics (2.80) |
J. Regional Science (7.94) |
| 10 | Energy Journal (1.58) |
Environ. & Planning-D (2.72) |
Environ. & Planning-A (7.88) |