Integrating Sciences for Monitoring, Assessment and Management
Guide for Authors
Language The official language of the journal is English.
Ecological Indicators uses an online, electronic submission
system. By accessing the website http://www.ees.elsevier.com/ecolind you will be guided stepwise through the creation and
uploading of the various files. When submitting a manuscript to Elsevier Editorial System, authors need to provide an electronic version
of their manuscript. For this purpose original source files, not PDF files, are preferred. The author should specify a category designation
for the manuscript (full length article, review article, short communication, etc.), choose a set of classifications from the prescribed
list provided online and select an editor. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal
procedures to the Editorial Office. Once the uploading is complete, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which
is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be by e-mail. Authors
are asked to provide the names of three potential referees in their covering letter.
Types of contributions
The following
contributions will be accepted:
Original research papers and case studies Review articles (invited) Special themes issues
Short notes Viewpoint articles (invited) Letters to the Editor Book Reviews
Manuscript
Preparation
Manuscripts
are to be written in English. Authors whose native language is not English are advised to seek the help of an English-speaking colleague,
if possible, before submitting their manuscripts. Generally, manuscripts should not exceed 7,000 words, the maximum word length being
10,000.
Authors submitting papers on the application of existing indicators or indicator systems are invited to send their articles
in the form of a Short Note article. This will shorten the reviewing process and will ensure quicker publication times.
Papers focussing
on demonstrations, tests or minor methodological improvements on the basis of regional investigations as well as condensed articles on
new topics concerning ecological indication are suitable articles to be submitted in the format of short note articles. The papers should
not exceed the length of ten manuscript pages, including figures, tables and references.
Underline words that should be in italics,
and do not underline any other words. Avoid excessive usage of italics to emphasize part of the text. Manuscripts in general should be
organized in the following order: Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long), Abstract, Key Words (four to six), Introduction
Materials and Methods (Study area descriptions, methods, techniques), Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgments, References,
Tables, Figure captions.
SI units should be used.
Abstracts
The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than
400 words.
Tables
Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and layout of the journal. Large tables
should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions of a table. If many data are to be presented, an attempt
should be made to divide them over two or more tables. The text should include reference to all tables.
References
All
publications cited in the text
should be presented in a list of references following the text of
the manuscript. The manuscript should
be carefully checked to
ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly
the same in the text as in the reference list.
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 (1989) has shown that...". "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1992,
pp. 12–16)".
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.
References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically.
The list of references should be arranged alphabetically on authors' 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.
Use the following system for arranging your references:
a. For periodicals. Ayres, R.U., 1993. Cowboys, cornucopians and long-run sustainability. Ecol. Econ. 8, 189-207.
b. For
edited symposia, special issues, etc., published in a periodical. Reiche, E.-W., 1993. Modelling water and nitrogen dynamics on
catchment scale. In: B. Breckling and F. Müller (Editors), State-of-the-Art in Ecological Modelling. Ecol. Model., 75/76; 371–384.
c. For books. Ahmad, Y., El Serafy, S. and Lutz, E. (Editors), 1989. Environmental Accounting for Sustainable Development. The
World Bank, Washington, DC, 100 pp.
d. For multi-author books. Daly, H.E., 1991. Ecological economics and sustainable development.
In: C. Rossi and E. Tiezzi (Editors), Ecological Physical Chemistry. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 185-201.
e. For unpublished reports,
departmental notes, etc. Goodland, R.,Daly, H.E. and El Serafy, S., 1991. Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development: Building
on Brundtland. Environment Working Paper No. 46, World Bank, Washington, DC.
Do not abbreviate the titles of periodicals mentioned
in the list of references; alternatively use the International List of Periodical Title Word Abbreviations.
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.
In referring
to a personal communication, the two words are followed by the year, e.g., "(J. McNary, personal communication,1992)".
Formulae
Formulae should be typewritten,if possible. Leave ample space around the formulae.
Subscripts and superscripts should
be clear.
Greek letters and other non-Latin or handwritten symbols should be explained in the margin where they are first used.
Take special care to show clearly the difference between zero(0) and the O, and between one (1) and the l.
Give the meaning
of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
For simple fractions, use the solidus (/)instead
of a horizontal line, e.g.,Ip/2mrather than Ip–2m
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.
The
use of fractional powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also, powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
Levels
of statistical significance which can be mentioned without further explanation are * P<0.05, **P<0.01 and *** P<0.001.
In chemical formulae, valence of ions should be given as, e.g., Ca2+and CO2-3
not as Ca++ orCO--3.
Isotope numbers should precede the symbols, e.g., 13O.
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).
Footnotes
Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential. In most cases it will be possible to incorporate the information in normal
text. If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated by superscript numbers, and kept as short as possible.
Nomenclature
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.
All biotica (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.
All biocides and other
organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when
first used in the text.
For chemical nomenclature, the conventions
of the International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry and the official recommendations of theIUPAC–IUB Combined
Commission on Biochemical Nomenclatureshould be followed.
Illustrations
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 supply high-quality printouts of your artwork, in case conversion
of the electronic artwork is problematic.
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 and Symbol.
Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
Use a logical naming
convention for your artwork files, and supply a separate listing of the files and the software used.
Provide all illustrations
as separate files and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets.
Provide captions to illustrations separately.
Produce
images near to the desired size of the printed version.
Submit colour illustrations as original photographs, high-quality computer
prints or transparencies, close to the size expected in publication, or as 35 mm slides. 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 reproduced
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. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.
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.
This journal offers electronic submission services and graphic files can be uploaded.
Non-electronic illustrations
Provide all illustrations as high-quality printouts, suitable for reproduction (which may include reduction) without retouching. Number
illustrations consecutively in the order in which they are referred to in the text. They should accompany the manuscript, but should
not be included within the text. Clearly mark all illustrations on the back (or - in case of line drawings - on the lower front side)
with the figure number and the author's name and, in cases of ambiguity, the correct orientation. Mark the appropriate position of a
figure in the article.
Captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions on a separate sheet, not attached
to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in
the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
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 our artwork
instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. This journal offers electronic submission services and
supplementary data files can be uploaded.
Proofs
Proofs will be sent to the author (first-named author if no corresponding
author is identified on multi-authored papers) by PDF wherever possible and should be returned within 48 hours of receipt, preferably
by e-mail. Corrections should be restricted to typesetting errors; any other amendments made may be charged to the author. Any queries
should be answered in full. Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly as possible.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are returned to us in one all-inclusive e-mail or fax. Subsequent additional
corrections will not be possible, so please ensure that your first communication is complete. Should you choose to mail your corrections,
please return them to: Log-in Department, Elsevier, Stover Court, Bampfylde Street, Exeter, Devon EX1 2AH, UK.
Page charges and
offprints
There will be no page charges. The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article
via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. 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.
Colour charges
Authors
will be charged for including colour illustrations in the printed version at the following rates and are encouraged only to consider
colour if necessary for clarity or comprehension: 1st page: Euro 350. Every 2nd page: Euro 175 (Prices per October 2004).
Copyright
guidelines
All authors must sign the `Transfer of Copyright' agreement before the article can be published. This transfer agreement
enables Elsevier Ltd to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the author's proprietary rights. The
copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions,
microform or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations, and includes the right to adapt the article for use in conjunction
with computer systems and programs, including reproduction or publication in machine-readable form and incorporation in retrieval systems.
Authors are responsible for obtaining from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists.
Conflicts
of Interest
To allow scientists, the public, and policy makers to make more informed judgements about published research, this
journal adopts a strong policy on conflicts of interest and disclosure. Authors should acknowledge all sources of funding and any direct
financial benefits that could result from publication. Editors likewise require referees to disclosure current or recent association
with authors and other special interest in this work.
Author Enquiries
Authors can keep a track on the progress of their
accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by using the "Track a Paper" feature
of Elsevier's Author Gateway (http://www.elsevier.com). Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article,
especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for publication.
