Author Guidelines
General remarks
- The following guideline concerns new submissions as well as resubmissions (postreview submissions).
- It is strongly recommended that authors check spam folder regularly during editorial process to avoid missing important notifications.
- After initial acceptance, the manuscript will be converted to a PDF file for review purpose and processed against plagiarism via Similarity Check (http://www.crossref.org/crosscheck/index.html) for originality.
- During editorial process, any revised version of the manuscript must be submitted within 2 months; if provided later, the revised version may be considered as a new submission.
Detailed guidelines
- The submission must be composed as a single MS Word (or its alternative) file. The file must include all supportive materials such as figures, tables, or appendices.
- The spelling of the manuscript must be US English.
- Page size: A4 (210 × 297 mm).
- Text: formatted with 12-point Times New Roman font; double-spaced, left-aligned paragraphs.
- Line numbers: enabled.
- The maximum number of characters (including spaces) should not exceed:
- 50,000 for the original research paper;
- 15,000 for short communication;
- 80,000 for other article types.
- Use SI units and symbols whenever possible.
- The manuscript size cannot exceed 48 MB.
- The first page of the manuscript must contain:
- article type (original research paper, short communication, review, checklist, etc.);
- article title;
- abstract (max. 300 words, which summarize briefly the results and conclusions of the research; do not include any citations here);
- keywords (max. eight keywords separated with semicolon);
- running head (i.e., the shortened title of the submission; max. eight words).
On subsequent pages, include the main text, which must be properly structured, according to the article type.
Article sections
For the original research paper, the required separate top-level sections are: “Introduction”, “Material and methods”, “Results”, “Discussion”; for other article types, including short communication, review, and checklist, the above structure is not required and customized sections are acceptable; each top-level section may contain up to four levels of subsections.
Additionally, the following sections are mandatory for all article types:
- financing (provide statement about research funding here; all sources should be mentioned, including grants, statutory and private funds, etc.);
- authors’ contributions (this section is mandatory for submissions with at least two authors; determine each author’s contribution qualitatively, not quantitively, e.g., research designing, conducting experiments, writing the manuscript, etc.);
- references (the number of references should be kept to a minimum).
In-text citations and reference list
We encourage authors to use reference management software to format in-text citations and reference list. Please follow APA ver. 7 to organize these elements of the manuscript. Below we present some basic rules and common examples related to citing and formatting sources. More detailed guidelines and examples are available on https://apastyle.apa.org/
Use author–date citation format in the main text, table, figure caption, etc. to cite corresponding entry in the reference list.
In-text citations
Citing single source:
- single author: “(Ruzin, 1999)”;
- two authors: “(Taiz & Zeiger, 2002)”;
- three and more authors: “(Mirek et al., 2002)”.
Citing multiple sources:
- place in-text citations in alphabetical order and separate each source with a semicolon: “(Mirek et al., 2002; Ruzin, 1999; Taiz & Zeiger, 2002)”;
- to cite sources having the same author(s) and year, use lowercase letter after the year: “(Wilson, 1999a, 1999b)”.
Above examples show parenthetical citations. In-text citations may also appear in narrative format, e.g., “As Imaichi (2008) noted…”.
Reference list
- Organize items in the reference list alphabetically, by the surname of the first author. Arrange references having the same first author chronologically, the oldest first. If both the author(s) and publication year are the same, add a lowercase letter after the year (similarly as in corresponding in-text citations; see above).
- For each reference item, list all first 20 authors. If there are more than 20 authors, include first 19 authors, add an ellipsis (“…”), and then the last author. For reference item with at least two authors, include coma and ampersand (“, &”) before last author.
- Use full journal names.
- For non-English references, provide original title and English translation (in square brackets). For references using non-Roman alphabet (e.g., Cyrillic), provide the reference (all its components, including authors, title, journal name, publisher, etc.) in the original alphabet, and next, the following elements should be provided in square brackets: transliteration of author/editor names (in accordance with the Romanization Tables of the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html), English translation of all titles, and English translation of the source (journal/publisher name), if available, or otherwise, its transliterated version (following Romanization Tables of the Library of Congress).
- Include DOI for all references having this identifier assigned. Use the following online service to look up a DOI: https://doi.crossref.org/simpleTextQuery
- For books, include only publisher name, without publication place; if a book has more than one publisher, separate publishers with semicolon. Do not include book series title.
- For websites, do not include website in a reference list if it is only mentioned generally (include url in the main text instead); provide date of retrieval only for pages that are likely to change over time, e.g., Google Maps.
Sample references:
Article in a journal, with DOI:
- Dąbrowska, M. A., Rola, K., Volkova, P., Suda, J., & Zalewska-Gałosz, J. (2015). Genome size and phenotypic variation of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae) species from Eastern Europe and temperate Asia. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 84(2), 277–286. https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.2015.016
Article in a journal with article number instead of page numbers, with DOI:
- Malinowski, D. P., Pinchak, W. E., Pitta D., & Min B. R. (2018). Solar radiation affects bloat potential of wheat forage. Acta Agrobotanica, 71(4), Article 1754. https://doi.org/10.5586/aa.1754
Article in non-Roman alphabet:
- Maлeeвa [Maleeva], Г. Ю. [H. IU.], & Пpиxoдькo [Prikhod′ko], O. Б. [O. B.]. (2016). Динaмікa пaлінaції aмбpoзії в Зaпopіжжі в пepіoд із 2012 пo 2016 pік [The dynamics of pollination of Ambrosia in Zaporizhzhya during the period of 2012 and 2016]. Bіcник Зaпopізькoгo нaціoнaльнoгo yнівepcитeтy, Біoлoгічні нayки [Bulletin of Zaporizhzhіa National University, Biological Sciences], 2016(2), 121–129.
Book:
- Ruzin, S. (1999). Plant microtechnique and microscopy. Oxford University Press.
Book with edition number other than 1st:
- Taiz, L., & Zeiger, E. (2002). Plant physiology (3rd ed.). Sinauer Associates.
Edited book:
- Bremer, K. (Ed.). (1994). Asteraceae: cladistics & classification. Timber Press.
Book in non-Roman alphabet:
- Kaмeлин [Kamelin], Р. B. [R. V.], Oвecнoв [Ovesnov], С. A. [S. A.], & Шилoвa [Shilova], С. И. [S. I.]. (1999). Heмopaльныe элeмeнты вo φлopax Уpaлa и Сибиpи [Nemoral elements in floras of Urals and Siberia]. Издaтeльcтвo Пepмcкoгo yнивepcитeтa [Perm University Press].
Chapter in a book, with DOI:
- Imaichi, R. (2008). Meristem organization and organ diversity. In T. A. Ranker & C. H. Haufler (Eds.), Biology and evolution of ferns and lycophytes (pp. 75–104). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511541827.004
Webpages and websites (here, date refers to publication date, not retrieval date, which is only required for webpages with content likely to change over time, in which case add full retrieval date before url):
- World Health Organization. (2018, February 20). Antimicrobial resistance. https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
Map (with non-English title translated in the square brackets):
- Krogulec, E., & Wierchowiec, J. (2000). Mapa geologiczno-gospodarcza Polski [Economic-geological map of Poland] [Map]. Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny.
Supportive materials
Supportive materials, such as figures, tables, or appendices must be consecutively numbered, depending on the order they appear in the text. This may also apply to equations/formulae if they are referenced multiple times within the text. When referring the supportive materials in the text, use full labels, e.g., Table 1, Figure 1.
Insert supportive materials after the main text and references.
Figures
Figures may be of any file format supported by the MS Word (or its alternative).
Include figure caption below each figure.
Label individual illustrations, if present within the figure, with a capital letter (“A”, “B”, “C”, …).
Tables
Dedicated MS Word (or its alternative) tools must be used to create tables; do not use tabs and spaces.
Appendices
These comprise supporting information in the form of tables, figures, datasets, etc., which:
- will not be included in the published article but will be linked with it;
- is not crucial for understanding the results but complements the study significantly;
- does not fit into the final article layout (e.g., large tables or figures, video, audio).
This information must be referred by adding leading “S” ahead of the number, e.g., Table S1, Figure S1. Please note that these materials will not be edited and will be published exactly as submitted.
Author Fees
This journal charges the following author fees.
Article Submission: 0.00 (PLN)
No fees are charged for submission of the manuscript.
Article Publication: 2000.00 (PLN)
If a submission is accepted for publication, author will be asked to pay the article publication fee to cover publication costs:
- for domestic authors: 2,000 PLN (1,400 PLN for PBS Members)
- for foreign authors: 520 EUR (480 EUR for PBS Members).
The fee must be paid prior to publication. Paid membership fee is required to take advantage of publication discounts.
Account details
Polish Botanical Society
Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw, Poland
Bank Millennium SA, Stanisława Żaryna 2A, 02-593 Warsaw, Poland
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
IBANs:
- for payments in PLN: PL 94 1160 2202 0000 0000 5515 6804
- for payments in EUR: PL 16 1160 2202 0000 0003 2373 1129.
Please note that the fee for international money transfer is fully covered by the recipient of the invoice.
