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The main text, Tables, Figure captions and References must be typed double-spaced and single-sided throughout, in 12-point size Times New Roman font. Leave at least a 2.5 cm-wide margin on both sides of each page. Avoid hyphens or dashes at the end of a line, and do not divide a word between lines. Do not justify the right-hand margin. Indent the first line of each paragraph, except the first paragraphs of the SUMMARY and the main (introductory) text.
Cite each Figure and Table in the text, in numerical order upon first occurrence. Tables are numbered I, II, etc; Figures are numbered 1, 2, etc. Do not abbreviate Figure to Fig. in the text.
Use standard SI units and abbreviations, s, min, h, d, µmol, m-2, mM, N, etc; but use week, month, year. Use ca., vs., SE, LSD, P, r2, R2 etc, and specify N,000 × g for centrifugation. Leave a space between a value and its unit(s), 5.6 g, 16 m; but, 45% and 18.6ºC. Do not use ppm, ppb, lux, acres etc.
Spell out abbreviations and acronyms at their first use in the SUMMARY and in the main text, and abbreviate subsequently [e.g., a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used ...]. Spell out numbers one to ten, unless a measurement (e.g., four flowers, 5 g, but 14 plots). Always use decimal points, not commas (0.4 not 0,4) and have a zero before a decimal point (0.5 not .5). Separate thousands with a comma (1,542 not 1 542 or 1542).
Do not use a slash/dash (!), except with and/or and his/her, and in Tables to save space. Use per (e.g., trees per plot) in the main text. Use negative indices for measured values: 5 g 1-1 ha-1 with a single space between units.
Ensure that each reference cited in the text is present in the REFERENCES section, and vice versa. Double-check spellings of all authors' names and dates. Cite references in the text as Smith (1992) or as (Smith, 1992); for two authors, use Smith and Jones (1992) or (Smith and Jones, 1992). If more than two authors use Smith et al. (1992) or (Smith et al., 1992), but give all authors' names and initials in the REFERENCES section. Use "(in press)" only if an article has been accepted for publication, otherwise refer to information in the text as (A. B. Smith, personal communication) or (unpublished). If you are quoting several references together in the text, separate each with a semicolon, unless they are by the same author(s) in the same year or different years (Jones and Smith, 1991; Smith and Jones, 1992a, b; Smith, 2003; 2005).
Assemble your manuscript in the following order (numbering all pages): (1) Title Page with footnote(s), if any; (2) SUMMARY; (3) Main text; (4) REFERENCES; (5) Tables I, II etc; (6) all Figure legends together; and (7) Figures 1, 2 etc. Do not staple the pages if in hard copy.
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