Instructions for Authors

Biodiversity: Research and Conservation publishes original papers, short notes and reviews. The manuscript of an original article should be entirely double spaced and follow a defined structure. The First page: Title – not more than 200 characters including spaces; Authors – full forenames and surnames; Affiliations – full postal address of authors’ parent institutions; Correspondence address; Orcid number; Abstract – the main theses and results, not exceeding 300 words; Key words – not more than sixth. Text: no right justification; no hyphenation at the ends of lines; no boldface and underline; only Latin names of taxa (genus, species, subspecies and variety) and all syntaxa should by written in italics.

• The standard structure of original articles:
  1. Introduction – the context for investigation, aims and the author’s hypothesis.
  2. Material and methods – sufficient information for replication of the results by a competent researcher.
  3. Results – important results first. Data should be presented in the form of figures and tables in numerical sequence and statistical analyses enclosed if applicable. The use of SI units is obligatory. The subheadings and insertion places of figures, tables and photos should be indicated in the text (e.g. Fig. 1, Table 1).
  4. Discussion – the important results of investigation and pertinent literature.
  Acknowledgment(s).
  Author Contributions
  Research concept and design:
  Collection and/or assembly of data:
  Data analysis and interpretation:
  Writing the article:
  Critical revision of the article:
  Final approval of the article:
  References – in alphabetical order; only the literature quoted.
  
  
• In case of notes and review articles, the above division of the content is not required.
  
  
• Scheme of references:
  
  Journal article:
  Mizianty M. 2005. Variability and structure of natural populations of Elymus caninus (L.) L. based on morphology. Pl. Syst. Evol. 251: 199-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-004-0262-8
  
  Book:
  Clayton W. D. & Renvoize S. A. 1986. Genera graminum. Grasses of the world. 389 pp. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.
  Meusel H. & Jäger E. 1992. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora. III. Text ix+333 pp., Karten, Literatur, Register pp. ix+422-688. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena-Stuttgart-New York.
  
  Book chapter:
  Mizianty M., Frey L. & Szczepaniak M. 2001. The Agropyron-Elymus complex (Poaceae) in Poland: biosystematics. In: L. Frey (ed.). Studies on grasses in Poland, pp. 25-77. W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków.
  
  For other types of publications, the proper format of references will be assigned by the Editors. In addition, authors should include in references the appropriate DOI number, whenever applicable (as shown on the above examples). DOI numbers are usually located at the top of the article front page. They automatically make the active link, so care must be taken that the numbers are correct and complete.
  
  
• Citing in text – examples:
  ...according to Mizianty et al. (2001); ...according to Meusel & Jäger (1992); In Poland, the genus is represented by 4 wild growing species (Mizianty et al. 2001).
  
  
• Figures. The numbered figures and illustrations should be included on separate pages and provided with the concise captions containing a title and explanations essential for understanding illustrated content. Figures should be of professional quality and should not include typed entries. Preferably, all figures and maps would be sent in JPEG or TIFF format (resolution not less than 300 dpi; font Arial, 8 pts.) and illustrations prepared in Corel Draw. Graphs and diagrams should be presented in Excel and send along with the source data used in their preparation. Photographs and microphotographs must be clear and of high-contrast. In case of grouping several images into one plate, it is obligatory to include the layout scheme. Color printing is possible by arrangement with the editors, for additional charge. Illustrations can be reproduced in two sizes: over two columns (15 × 19 cm) and to one column width (7 × 19 cm). Originals of graphs, maps, schemata and photographs should be prepared in a way ensuring that after appropriate reduction (if applicable) they are clearly legible.
  
  
• Tables. The numbered tables with their corresponding captions should be sent on separate pages. They ought to be prepared in the MS Word editor (font Times New Roman, 9 pts.), in dimensions not exceeding 15 × 19 cm.
  
  

Editorial and review procedure

• The suitability of manuscripts will be independently evaluated by the members of the Editorial Board and referees selected by the editors.
• Any other problems related to the preparation of manuscripts for publishing should be clarified with the editors.
• The editorial staff will keep the authors informed on the successive stages of editorial processing of their works.
• All information will be send to the author’s correspondence address.
• Each publication is subject to a single blind review and is reviewed by two independent reviewers not affiliated with the home institution/s of the author/s.
• The criteria against which the article is assessed are as follows: 1) Relevance of the topic presented in the work; 2) Use of the literature on the subject and the formulation of a research problem; 3) Formulation of the aim of the work and research tasks; 4) Presentation of research methodology; 5) Conformity of methods and research material with the aim and scope of the work; 6) Conformity of the results of the study with the aim of the work and research material; 7) Presentation and interpretation of results (form, scope and illustration); 8) Form and content of discussion; 9) Importance of presented results and conclusions; 10) Content of the abstract and the choice of key words; 11) Literature compilation and the way of its citation in the text; 12) Form of illustration (figures, photographs and tables and the way of their quoting).
• The reviewer has three grades available: faultlessly, satisfactorily, unsatisfactorily.
• A review contains a clear conclusion on the conditions of manuscript approval or rejection.
• An annual list of reviewers is published once per year in the year-end issue both on the journal’s website and in the printed version. The names of reviewers contributing to individual issues of the journal are not revealed to authors or to other reviewers.
• Submission of a manuscript indicates a tacit understanding that the paper is not actively under consideration for publication in other journals.
• After completing the review process, a corresponding author, on behalf of all authors, will be asked to send the signed declaration of License to Publish.
• The Journal does not provide off-prints to authors and does not have article processing charges (APCs), nor article submission charges.
• For the purchase of a print version please contact Publishing House “Kontekst”.
• For subscription orders please contact the Editorial Secretary.