The title page must be submitted as a separate attachment and include:

• Full names of all authors.
• A concise and informative manuscript title.
• Author affiliations and addresses.
• Name and email address of the corresponding author.
• 16-digit ORCID identifiers, with at least the corresponding author’s ORCID.
• Acknowledgements.
• Funding statement.

• Abstract: maximum 250 words.
• Avoid undefined abbreviations and unspecified references in the abstract.
• Provide no more than six keywords.
• Arrange keywords alphabetically and italicise them.
• Italicise non-English words.

• Submit manuscripts in Microsoft Word format.
• Use the decimal system for headings, with no more than three levels.
• Define abbreviations at their first occurrence and use them consistently.
• For review papers, use a plain font such as 12-point Cambria.
• For review papers, use 1.5 line spacing and justified alignment throughout.
• Use automatic page numbering and consecutive line numbering in the left margin.
• Save the document as DOCX or DOC.
• Use tabs rather than repeated spaces for indentation.

• Use internationally accepted SI units and symbols.
• Italicise genus and species names; provide the authority for the first mention where appropriate.
• Prefer generic names for drugs and pesticides; identify the generic name when a trade name is first used.
• Use standard mathematical notation consistently.
• Use italics for variables, upright type for numerals and operators, and bold type for vectors, tensors and matrices.

• Use author–year citations in the text.
• Arrange the reference list alphabetically by the first author’s surname.
• Include only works cited in the manuscript that have been published or accepted for publication.
• Provide the full URL and access date for online documents.
• Include available bibliographic details such as authors, publication year, source and DOI.
• Do not use footnotes or endnotes as substitutes for references.
• Newspaper articles are not considered valid references under the journal’s guidelines.

Tables

• Number tables consecutively using Arabic numerals.
• Cite every table in the text in numerical order.
• Provide a descriptive caption for each table.
• Credit previously published material in the caption and obtain the required permissions.
• Use editable Word tables rather than spreadsheet images.

Figures and illustrations

• Cite figures consecutively in the text.
• Provide figures at an appropriate size and approximately 300 dpi resolution.
• Combine related images into composite figures where appropriate, labelling panels a, b, c, and so on.
• Provide clear scale bars for micrographs and photographs where applicable.
• Ensure axis labels, units, legends and figure lettering are clear and legible.