Submissions

Author Guidelines

Submit manuscripts to Environmental and Experimental Biology as e-mail attachments to gederts@lanet.lv. Each manuscript must be an original research report that has not been submitted as a printed article elsewhere other than as an abstract of conference presentation. Manuscripts should be submitted as a MS Word or compatible document. Double space all typed material, including References, Tables, table titles and legends, figure legends. Use Times (12 points) font. Number all pages consecutively. Figures should be submitted on separate pages.

• 1^st page.
  • Title
  • Running title not exceeding 60 characters
  • Corresponding author – first name, family name, affiliation, address, phone, fax, e-mail
• 2^nd page.
  • Title
  • Author(s)
  • Affiliation(s) and address(es)
  • E-mail of the corresponding author
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • Abbreviations
• 3^rd and following pages.
  • Introduction
  • Material and methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Tables
  • Figures
  • Figure legends

Title should be short and informative, containing all the main key words.

Abstract. State the aim of the work, used methods and principal results. Do not exceed 600 to 1000 characters. Do not include references.

Keywords. No more than six keywords (or short phrases) characterizing the aim of the wotk should be provided. Arrange keywords alphabetically.

Abbreviations. List all abbreviations used which are not standard, followed by a full form. Abbreviations used in tables or figures only should not be included in the list. Arrange abbreviations alphabetically. Abbreviations can be used if the term appears at least three times in the text. Do not use abbreviations in the abstract except if used at least three times. At first use of the term in the text or in the abstract spell it out and introduce the abbreviation parenthetically.

Introduction. Only information necessary to understand an aim of the work as well as to provide a background for performed investigations should be given here. Introduction should give an opportunity for scientists from other fields to understand the essence of the described work. Formulate the aim of the experiments at the end of the introduction.

Materials and methods or Methods. This section should contain all the details about performing of experimental procedures (both experimental design as well as analytical methods). The information provided must be complete enough so that results can be verified by other scientists. References to appropriate methods should be given. Include complete scientific names (genus, species, authority for the binomial, and, when appropriate, cultivar or variety etc.) for all experimental organisms. Identify the number of replications, the number of individuals, analytic replications etc. Include methods of statistical analysis. Give appropriate references on general ethic rules if necessary.

Results should be concise and objective. Use past tense. Every figure and table should be mentioned in the text.

Tables and figures should be self-explanatory without reference to text. Do not duplicate any data both in the form of tables and figures. Large bodies of primary data should not be presented.

Tables. Number tables consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of citation in the text. Provide each table with a title in a form of a complete sentence followed by a legend giving necessary explanations. Title and legend should be placed over the table. Provide a descriptive heading for each column. Avoid using large tables (more than eight columns). Place each table and its legend on a separate page. Do not use vertical lines in a table.

Figures. Number of figures should be kept to the minimum. All figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals and must be metioned sequentially in the text. Provide a caption in a form of a complete sentence followed by an explanatory legend. If a figure is composed of several parts (diagrams, graphs, pictures), label them as A, B, C etc. Place each figure on a separate A4 sheat considering reduction in printed version. Keep in mind that final dimensions of figures in the article should be no larger than 10.5 cm in width and 40 cm in height. Type size should not be less than 2 mm after reduction. For graphs prefferred symbols are closed or open circle, square, and triangle. Avoid using +, × or *. In histograms use closed, open, or striped bars. Do not use 3-D columns or different intensities of gray. Every figure should be marked with authors’ names and figure number. Captions and legends should be included with the manuscript.

Style. Manuscript should be written in simple declarative sentences and must conform to accepted standards of English style and usage.

Literature citations. References should be cited in text by last names and year of publication. Cite references chronologically. When the given publication has two authors, name both authors. With more than two authors per publication, name only a first author followed by ‘et al.’. When a particular author or a group of authors has several publications for the given year, give letters ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’ etc. after the year of publication. Separate individual references by a semicolon. As an example, (Collins 1999) or (Collins, Chapper 1999) or (Collins et al. 1999) or (Collins 1999a; Collins 1999b) or (Collins 1999a; Chapper 1999b). It is possible to use also the following format ‘It is important to note, that Collins (1999) already described...’ As an exception, the reference to Internet may be given without including it in the list of references. Unpublished results should be cited by the name of the author only in the text, e.a., (Collins, unpublished data) or (Chapper, personal communication).

Units of measure. Temperature is expressed in degrees Celsius (°C), time in seconds (s), minutes (min), hours (h), days etc. It is appropriate to use litre (L) as a special designation for 1 dm³. Consequently, mililitre (mL) and microlitre (µL) also can be used. In all other cases SI units must be used as much as possible. Use negative exponents to indicate units in the denominator, e.g. kg m^-2; m m^-2 s^-1. Write out numerals one through nine, except when used with units of measure. Write out all numbers or fractions that begin a sentence, or rephrase the sentence to avoid beginning with a numeral. Use the preposition ‘to’ between numerals (avoid using a dash): e.g. ‘8 to 12 h’.

Nomenclature. In the abstract, at first mention in the text, and in Materials and methods, include complete biological names for all experimental organisms. Following first mentions, generic names should be abbreviated to the initial, except when confusion could arise by reference to genera with the same initial. Exceptions may be accepted in purely taxonomic papers.

Abbreviations. Use only standard scientific abbreviations accepted internationally. Abbreviations can be used if the term appears at least three times in the text. Do not use abbreviations in the abstract except if used at least three times. At first use of the term in the text or in the abstract spell it out and introduce the abbreviation parenthetically.

Discussion. Describe importance of acquired results, analyzing discovered relationships in a logical sequence. References to figures and tables as well as literature sources should be given. As an exception, due to a logical sequence of performed experiments, it is possible to form a joint section Results and discussion.

Acknowledgements. First, provide any details on financial support received. Second, acknowledge any person you need to thank for essential help during experiments or writing your work.

References. Include only publications cited in the text. Place references in strict alphabetic order, i.e., firstly by the name of the first author, then by the name of the second author if the first author is identical for more than one reference, then by the name of the third author if the first two authors are identical, and so on. Include the names of all authors and a full title of each paper or a book. Publications by the same atuthor or the group of authors place in a chronological order. Abbreviate journal names according to ISI standards. Provide English translations for titles of all publications other than English, German, or French. The corresponding author has a full responsibility for an accuracy in citations. Citations will be edited for a format only.

The following standard form of citation should be used:

• Journal articles
  • Enkerli J., Felix G., Boller T. 1999. The enzymatic activity of fungal xylanase is not necessary for its elicitor activity. Plant Physiol. 121: 391–397.
• Book articles
  • Hammerschmidt R., Nicholson R.L. 1999. A survey of plant defense responses to pathogens. In: Agrawal A.A., Tuzun S., Bent E. (eds) Induced Plant Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores. APS Press, St. Paul, pp. 55–71.
• Monographs
  • Fahn A. 1979. Secretory Tissues in Plants. Academic Press, London. 250 p.

After acceptance, page proofs in a PDF form will be sent via e-mail to the corresponding author to check the layout, tables and figures. Alterations other than the essential correction of errors are unacceptable at the proof stage. The proof needs to be returned by the appointed date, otherwise it may result in delay of the publication.