生态圈的范围和生态学本身一样广泛。该杂志欢迎来自生态科学各个子学科的投稿，以及与生态学相关的跨学科研究。该杂志的目标是提供一种快速出版的、在线的、开放获取的欧空局其他期刊的替代品，同时保持欧空局出版物所享有的严格的同行评审标准。
The scope of Ecosphere is as broad as the science of ecology itself. The journal welcomes submissions from all sub-disciplines of ecological science, as well as interdisciplinary studies relating to ecology. The journal's goal is to provide a rapid-publication, online-only, open-access alternative to ESA's other journals, while maintaining the rigorous standards of peer review for which ESA publications are renowned.