Agricultural Systems is an international journal that deals with interactions - among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural and social environments. In particular, its aim is to encourage integration of knowledge among those disciplines that underpin agriculture. Many contributions will therefore be multi- or inter-disciplinary. Papers generally focus on either methodological approaches to understanding and managing interactions within or among agricultural systems, or the application of holistic or quantitative systems approaches to a range of problems within agricultural systems and their interactions with other systems. Because of the nature of the readership of Agricultural Systems, the contents of papers should be easily accessible (properly introduced, presented and discussed) to readers from a wide range of disciplines.


The scope includes the development and application of systems methodology, including system modelling, simulation and optimisation; ecoregional analysis of agriculture and land use; studies on natural resource issues related to agriculture; impact and scenario analyses related to topics such as GMOs, multifunctional land use and global change; and the development and application of decision and discussion support systems; approaches to analysing and improving farming systems; technology transfer in tropical and temperate agriculture; and the relationship between agricultural development issues and policy.


The journal publishes original scientific papers, short communications, review articles and book reviews. Review articles and book reviews should only be submitted after consultation with the Editors.

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Types of contribution
The journal welcomes submissions that address interactions among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural and social environments. Submissions can also deal with methodological approaches to understanding and managing interactions within or among agricultural systems, or with the application of holistic or quantitative systems approaches to a range of problems within agricultural systems and their interactions with other systems. Because of the interdisciplinary and international readership of Agricultural Systems, the contents of papers should be easily accessible (properly introduced, presented and discussed) to readers from a wide range of disciplines. The journal publishes original scientific papers, short communications, review articles and book reviews. Review articles and book reviews should be submitted only after consultation with the editors.


Online Submission of manuscripts
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided.
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Oxford, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed on-line via the Elsevier homepage ( http://www.elsevier.com/authors).

Submission to this journal proceeds totally on-line. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the following site you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files ( http://ees.elsevier.com/agsy or http://www.elsevier.com/locate/guidepublication). Once the uploading is done, our system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. It is crucial that all graphical elements be uploaded in separate files, so that the PDF is suitable for reviewing. Authors can upload their article as a LaTex or Microsoft (MS) Word. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be by e-mail.


Electronic format requirements for accepted articles
We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word and LaTeX are preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used.

Wordprocessor documents
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. Do not embed 'graphically designed' equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions). Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the above mentioned website. To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spellchecker' function of your wordprocessor.

Preparation of manuscripts
1. Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts checked by an English-speaking colleague prior to submission.
English language help service: Upon request, Elsevier will direct authors to an agent who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for further information or visit http://www.elsevier.com/locate/languagepolishing.


2. Manuscripts should be prepared with numbered lines, with wide margins and double spacing throughout, i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references.Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections. Avoid excessive use of italics to emphasize part of the text.Authors are requested to submit, with their manuscripts, the names and addresses of four potential referees.


3. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following manner:
•Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long)
•Name(s) of author(s)
•Complete contact details
•Telephone and E-mail of the corresponding author
•Present address(es) of author(s) if applicable
•Abstract
•Key words (indexing terms), normally 3-6 items
•Introduction
•Material studied, area descriptions, methods, techniques
•Results
•Discussion
•Conclusion
•Acknowledgements and any additional information concerning research grants, etc.
•References
•Tables
•Figure captions


4. In typing the manuscript, titles and subtitles should not be run within the text. They should be typed on a separate line, without indentation. Use lower-case lettertype.


5. Elsevier reserves the privilege of returning to the author for revision accepted manuscripts and illustrations which are not in the proper form given in this guide.

Abstracts
The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words, reporting concisely on the purpose of the paper. Four or five keywords should also be included.


Formulae
1. Subscripts and superscripts should be clear.
2. Give the meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
3. For simple fractions use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line.
4. Equations should be numbered serially at the right-hand side in parentheses. In general only equations explicitly referred to in the text need be numbered.
5. The use of fractional powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
6. Levels of statistical significance which can be mentioned without further explanation are ^* P<0.05, ^** P<0.01 and ^*** P<0.001.
7. In chemical formulae, valence of ions should be given, as, e.g. Ca²⁺ not as Ca⁺⁺.
8. Isotope numbers should precede the symbols, e.g. ¹⁸O.
9. The repeated writing of chemical formulae in the text is to be avoided where reasonably possible; instead, the name of the compound should be given in full. Exceptions may be made in the case of a very long name occurring very frequently or in the case of a compound being described as the end product of a gravimetric determination (e.g. phosphate as P₂O₅).


Units and abbreviations
In principle SI units should be used except where they conflict with current practise or are confusing. Other equivalent units may be given in parentheses. Units and their abbreviations should be those approved by ISO (International Standard 1000:1992. SI units and recommendations for the use of their multiples and of certain other units). Abbreviate units of measure only when used with numerals.


Nomenclature
1. Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological nomenclature, as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
2. All biota (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals.
3. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. Active ingredients of all formulations should likewise be identified.
4. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the official recommendations of the IUPAC_IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.
Supplementary data
Elsevier now accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit http://www.elsevier.com/authors.

Tables
1. Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and lay-out of the journal. Large tables should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions of a table.
2. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables.
3. Drawn tables, from which prints need to be made, should not be folded.
4. Tables should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.
5. Each table should be typewritten on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should never be included in the text.
6. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.
7. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.
8. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead.
9. Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.
10. Wherever possible, columns should represent individual variables or variables with common units, and rows should represent observations.
11. Present data with no more digits than justified by the accuracy of their measurement or simulation, and no more digits than needed for the purpose of the table. Using fewer digits usually enhances readability of tables.


Preparation of electronic illustrations
Submitting your artwork in an electronic format helps us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.


General points
•Always upload high-quality e-files of your artwork.
•Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
•Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
•Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol.
•Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
•Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
•Provide all illustrations as separate files.
•Provide captions to illustrations separately.
•Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
•Illustrations should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. References should be made in the text to each illustration
•Illustrations should be designed with the format of the page of the journal in mind. Illustrations should be of such a size as to allow a reduction of 50%.
•Make sure that the size of the lettering is big enough to allow a reduction of 50% without becoming illegible. The final font size in printing should be about 6-8pt. The lettering should be in English. Use the same kind of lettering throughout and follow the style of the journal.
•If a scale should be given, use bar scales on all illustrations instead of numerical scales that must be changed with reduction.


A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Colour illustrations
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS, or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. Polaroid colour prints are not suitable. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduces in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour print or on the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.


Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white prints corresponding to all the colour illustrations.

Supplementary files
Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier now accepts electronic supplementary material (e-components) to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the Author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. This journal offers electronic submission services and supplementary data files can be uploaded via http://ees.elsevier.com/agsy.

References
1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text the manuscript. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of author's names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed - if necessary - by a short reference to appropriate pages. Examples: "Since Peterson (1988) has shown that..." "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer,1989, pp. 12-16)".
3. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors the name of the first author should be used followed by "et al." This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In this list names of first author and co-authors should be mentioned.
4. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically on author's names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication dates - publications of the same author with one co-author - publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1974a, 1974b, etc.
5. Use the following system for arranging your references:
a. For periodicals
Tietema, A., Riemer, L., Verstraten, J.M., van der Maas, M.P., van Wijk, A.J., van Voorthuyzen, I.,1992. Nitrogen cycling in acid forest soils subject to increased atmospheric nitrogen input. For. Ecol. Manage. 57, 29-44.
b. For edited symposia, special issues, etc. published in a periodical
Rice, K., 1992. Theory and conceptual issues. In: Gall, G.A.E., Staton, M. (Eds.), Integrating Conversation Biology and Agricultural Production. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 42, 9-26.
c. For books
Gaugh, Jr., H.G., 1992. Statistical Analysis of Regional Yield Trials. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
d. For multi-author books
Baker, Jr., 1993. Insects. In: De Hertogh, A., Le Nard, M. (Eds.), The Physiology of Flower Bulbs. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 101-153.
6. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained.However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
7. Work accepted for publication but not yet published should be referred to as "in press".
8. References concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text.


Articles in Special Issues: Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added (in the list and text) to any references to other articles in this Special Issue.

Footnotes
Footnotes are not generally acceptable in the main body of an Agricultural Systems manuscript. Any information that is essential to understanding should be incorporated into the text. Footnotes can be used within tables as discussed previously.


Copyright
1. An author, when quoting from someone else's work or when considering reproducing an illustration or table from a book or journal article, should make sure that he is not infringing a copyright.
2. Although in general an author may quote from other published works, he should obtain permission from the holder of the copyright if he wishes to make substantial extracts or to reproduce tables, plates, or other illustrations. If the copyright-holder is not the author of the quoted or reproduced material, it is recommended that the permission of the author should also be sought.
3. Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has been obtained.
4. A suitable acknowledgment of any borrowed material must always be made.


Proofs
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win. If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post.
Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.

Agricultural Systems has no page charges


For further information please see the journal home page at: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy.