Plant Ecology and Evolution: article submission

- Submission of manuscripts -

All enquiries and manuscripts should electronically be forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief, National Botanic Garden, Domein van Bouchout, B-1860 Meise (Belgium); email: plecevo[at]br.fgov.be.

Scope of the Journal
Plant Ecology and Evolution is an international journal devoted to ecology, phylogenetics and systematics of all ‘plant’ groups in the traditional sense (including algae, cyanobacteria, fungi & myxomycetes), also covering related fields such as comparative and developmental morphology, conservation biology, ecophysiology, evolution, phytogeography, pollen and spores, population biology and vegetation studies.

Publishers
The journal is a continuation of Belgian Journal of Botany, incorporating Systematics and Geography of Plants. It is published by the Royal Botanical Society of Belgium and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium.

Types of article and language
The journal publishes original research articles, short notes, reviews and book reviews, in English or French. Manuscripts may be of any length, but must be clearly and concisely written. A research article reports results of a substantial, completed and original work. A short note is a brief report of a small experiment, taxonomic proposal, or unexplained observation. A review presents a novel and critical appraisal of a specific topic.

Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically by sending a message to plecevo[at]br.fgov.be. The message should include (1) a covering letter, (2) a text file with the entire text, (3) additional files for figures and tables, and (4) electronic appendices. All file types can be submitted as appendix files (PDF, nexus, Excel, video files,…). They will be refereed along with the core paper, but the author is responsible for the lay-out of the files. Authors of phylogenetic papers are encouraged to submit the aligned matrices as electronic appendix files.
Authors should consult the checklist and manuscript sample on how to prepare the files. Authors are expected to have their papers well checked for content and correctness in presentation of text and illustrations. Manuscripts not conforming the guidelines will be returned to the author until satisfactory files are provided.
The corresponding author receives by e-mail an acknowledgment of receipt of the manuscript, mentioning the communicating editor and a manuscript reference number. If you do not receive an acknowledgement you should inquire to be sure it was received.

Reviewing policy
All contributions are subject to normal reviewing processes. Acceptance of papers is supervised by an international Editorial Board. Manuscripts considered suitable for peer review by the Editorial Board are sent to at least two referees (members of the Board or external). The journal gives referees a target of four weeks for the return of their reports.

Proofs and cover picture
Proofs will be sent to the corresponding author. Alterations in this stage should be exceptional and excessive changes are at the author’s expense. Proofs are to be returned without delay.
Authors are invited to submit eye-catching pictures related to the submission for possible printing on the cover of the issue in which their article will appear. The technical requirements are similar to those for manuscript photographs (see checklist). The image should be sent as a TIFF file at 450 dpi, size approx. 15 x 10 cm.

Charges
Authors pay no fees or page charges. Colour photographs and graphics are accepted without charge when their use enhances scientific content or clarity. The corresponding author receives a free copy of the issue of the Journal in which the paper is published and a PDF (Portable Document Format) file of the paper. In addition, 25 offprints of the article will be supplied without charge upon request. Additional offprints can be ordered using the form sent out with the proofs.

Please contact the Editorial Office if you have any further question:

plecevo[at]br.fgov.be or fax **32 2 2600 945.