Instances of Scientific Misconduct | Artemi Cerdà

Artemi Cerdà

Artemi Cerdà, a soil and land management researcher at the University of Valencia in Spain, gained recognition for his work on soil erosion. However in 2017, he was found to have manipulated citations to unfairly boost references to his own publications and the journals he was affiliated with. This action, uncovered by the European Geosciences Union and Copernicus Publications, violated scientific ethics and led to his resignation from multiple editorial roles. Despite the misconduct, Cerdà was later reinstated to an editorial board in 2025, suggesting the scientific community’s capacity for correction and rehabilitation. His case illustrates how science confronts malpractice while allowing for accountability and redemption over time.

Application of the novel state-of-the-art soft computing techniques for groundwater potential assessment (PubPeer, March 2025)

Citation-boosting episode leads to editors’ resignations, university investigation (Retraction Watch, March 3, 3017)

Citation stacking in soil science articles: our response to the open letter by concerned early-career soil scientists (Science Direct, April 4, 2018)

Editor resigns from two journals after “considerable” citation boosting attempts (Retraction Watch, February 17, 2017)

Editor steps down from journal while it investigates citation irregularities (Retraction Watch, February, 24, 2017)

EGU & Copernicus report about citation stacking in the EGU journals SE and SOIL (European Geosciences Union, February 27, 2017)

Elsevier investigates hundreds of peer reviewers for manipulating citations (nature index, September 12, 2019)

Ousted editor speaks: I did not manipulate citations (Retraction Watch, March 24, 2017)

Modelling of piping collapses and gully headcut landforms: Evaluating topographic variables from different types of DEM (PubPeer, October 2024)

Seven scientists from the University of Valencia are among the most cited in the world, according to a ranking by Stanford University. (Universitat de Valéncia, October 8, 2024)

Soil scientist previously named in citation scandal appointed to editor role at Elsevier journal (Retraction Watch, October 25, 2025)