ISSN 1852-5962
online version
ISSN 0075-7314
printed version

Instructions to authors

• Scope and policy
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Sending of manuscripts

KURTZIANA publishes original scientific works of botany and basic or experimental mycology which consider aspects related to ecology, biogeography, reproductive biology, biological interactions, morphology, molecular biology and cytology of organisms. Submissions may be in the form of  standard contributions, taxonomical notes and chorologies, short communications or contributions to the special section “Biology of Austral species” (consult information in the ad hoc document below). Reviews related to subjects of a wide scientific interest may also be considered for publication. The maximum length permitted is 20 printed pages, including figures and tables. Possible exceptions to this rule may be permitted, especially in the case of reviews.

1. General Instructions

- Manuscripts may be written in Spanish, Portuguese or English (consult the editor concerning other possibilities) in double-spaced text of one column with margins of 2.5cm and on single-sided pages. All pages and illustrations should be numbered.

- Files sent electronically to the journal should be created  under the operating system WINDOWS,  preferably using the word processor Microsoft Word.

- If  a postal service is used to send contribitions, three paper copies of the original should be sent to the journal. In this case, only good copies of the illustrations ( not the originals) should be included. Once the work is accepted, it should then be sent in a CD for  IBM-PC or compatible computers under the DOS or WINDOWS operating systems, preferably in Microsoft Word or another similar text processor.

- Whenever possible, the work should be ordered : Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References.

- Each manuscript should be accompanied in a separate file by a letter to the Editor explaining the scientific contribution provided by the work.

2. Format

  - Text should be left justified, without indentation, centering, or right-justification, avoiding underlining, italics, etc. (except for scientific names) and, if possible,  without footnotes.

- Words should be separated by only a single space.

- Tables and figures should appear on separate pages after the reference section, starting on a new page. The legends of the tables and figures should be self-explanatory, positioning those referring to tables before each one, while those referring to figures should be placed together before the figures. The figures and tables of the text should be referenced in the following manner: (Fig.1; Table 1).

-  The patronymic (in authors, references, abbreviations, material studied etc.) should be in lowercase.

-     References in foreign languages and vernacular names should be in quotation marks.

- Generic and infrageneric taxa should be written in italics; with abbreviations   only cited when mentioned the first time.

3. First Page

      -     The title should be short and concise, written in lowercase and without a final  period. The family or division name, whichever corresponds, should be   included between parentheses. The use of an abbreviated title is suggested for the running title or page heading.

      -     The author(s) should be located immediately below – and with one or  more items – indicating the place of work, postal and electronic address, and institition (CONICET, University or other).

   -      There should be a summary in Spanish and another in English, not exceeding 200 words, written in a separate paragraph. The author(s), year, manuscript title and name of the journal should be included. Both summaries should add up to 10 keywords related to the title.

4. Abbreviations

- The reference works are : R. K. Brumitt & C. E. Powell (1992), Authors of plant names, Kew; F. A. Stafleu & R. S. Cowan (1976), Taxonomic literature, vols. 1-7 and F. A Stafleu & E. A. Mennega (1992-1997), Taxonomic literature Supplement, vols. 1-4; Botanic-Periodicum (1969) and Supplementum (1991) and P. K. Holmgren et al. (1990), Index Herbariorum.

- Measurement units, acronyms, and cardinal points are not followed by periods (except in m. a. s. l.).

 5. Taxonomic Treatments

- Keys should be dichotomous and indented ; The two options should be identified for each dichotomy with the same number (1-1’) and species given in alphabetical order.

- New species descriptions

 - The scientific name should be placed before the description,  in bold non-italic type followed by the abbreviation. Then, the type of new species proposed should be indicated (sp. nov., comb. nov.) . In a new paragraph , the latin diagnosis in italics should be given. Under this, the material type should be stated (refer to example given in material studied), adding the corresponding  observations eg. Holotypus specei, Holotypus varietasis, etc.,  indicating the abbreviation of the herbarium where the item is deposited in parentheses. Finally the illustration, if it exists, should be referenced.

In a new paragraph, a detailed description should be given in the vernacular language, consisting of : Observations, Phenology, Habitat, Geographical distribution.,  for example:

ARGENTINA. Prov. Catamarca. DptoSanta Maria: San Antonio, El Cajón, 3180 m. a. s. l., Rodríguez 1389, 13-III-1914. “Rastrera” Holotypus speciei (LIL). Fig. 8.

-     Previously described species

The name should be given  (in bold non-italic type) followed by the abbreviation and the reference, and then if  it exists, the basionym. The material TYPE, using exclamation marks if the material can be observed ( eg. BAA! ), should be stated followed by  the figure reference (Fig.) In a new paragraph the synonyms should be indicated, for example:

Steinchisma spathellosa (Doel) Renvoiza, Kew Bull. 42: 931. 1987. Panicum spathellosum Doell, en C. F. Martius, Fl. Bras. 2 (2): 241. 1877. TYPE: Brazil: without localization, Sellow s. n. (holotype, B!; isotypes, BAA!, K!,US!). Fig. 9.

Panicum schenckii Hack., Osterr. Bot. Z. 51: 426. 1901. TYPE: Brazil. Santa Catarina: Itajaí, prope Blumenau, Schenck 579 ( holotype, W!; isotypes, BA!, US!).

Below this should be the description,  followed by the Common name, Material studied, Observations, Phenology, Habitat and Geographical Distribution.

6. Material Studied

- If  the material examined is abundant, only the most representative example should be cited (by its phenology, distribution, etc.) in the text.

 - In the text, the specimens should be cited after the description, in the following order: COUNTRY (in uppercase). State/Province ( Stat/Prov. In bold). Department (Dpto. in italics): locality, altitude (m. a. s. l.), Collector, Collection number and Date (with the month in roman numerals: 2-V-1998). These are followed, between quotation marks, by the collector’s observations. Finally, the abbreviation of the herbarium (or herbaria) where examples can be found should be indicated between parentheses. Contiguous examples should be separated by period and hyphen. Large geographical areas such as continents or sub-continents should be separated and placed in  independent paragraphs; and within these, countries should be ordered from North to South and from West to East.

- States/ provinces/ departments of the same country should be ordered alphabetically and grouped together in paragraphs. For example :

 - ARGENTINA. Prov. Córdoba: Dpto. San Alberto: Pampa de Achala, 2300 m. a. s. l. , López 1320, 4-II-1999. “abundant” (CORD).

7. References

- Only the works mentioned in the text should be included.

- Authors should be ordered alphabetically; if several works are by the same author, these should be ordered chronologically, and indentified by adding the letter a, b, c etc.

- If there are more than two authors,  “et al.” should be added to the first of these when citing the reference in the text. However, all the authors should figure in the general bibliography.

- The citations in the text should be made according to the following models: López (1948); López (1948: 27); (López , 1948); López (1947,1965,1986); López &García(1954); (López&García, 1954); López et al. (1948); (Insúa, 1948; Abondanzieri, 1990; Palacio 2005).

Examples:

Khan M. A. & C. A Stace 1999. Breeding relationships in the genus Brachypodium(Poaceae:Pooideae). Nordic J. Bot. 19: 257-269.

Macfarlane T. D. 1987. Poaceae Subfamily Pooideae, in T. R. Soderstom, K. W. Hilu, C. S. Campbell & M. E. Barkworth (eds.). Grass systematics and evolution, pp. 265-276. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington D. C.

Niklas K. J. 1997. The evolutionarybiology of plants. The University Of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Palermo M. 2003. The evolution of plants. The University Of Chicago Press, Chicago.

 Palermo M. 2005. The evolution of pollen. The University Of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Stafleu F. A. & R. S Cowan. 1976-1988. Taxonomic literature (cd. 2) / vols. Bohn. Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht.

8. Illustrations

- All photographs, drawings, maps, graphs, etc., separate or in groups, should be treated as figures (abbreviation: Fig.).

- Consecutive arabic numbers should be used, following the same order as in the text. Each element should be identified with uppercase letters, from left to right and from top to bottom.

- The dimensions should be indicated by the means of scales; it is recommended that all the scales of the  illustrations are placed in the same position ( vertical and horizontal).

- All the illustrations must be of a high quality (conventional photographs or digital images) in black and white with good contrast.

- Drawings and maps should be made using India ink or  by laser or ink jet printers ;  maps should have North(N) at the top, with at least two indications of latitude and longitude and a scale in kilometers. It is especially recommended that anatomical and morphological studies avoid repeticion of  section drawings with micrographs; only in conflictive cases should this double documentation be used. Likewise, diagramatic schemes should strictly respect the section drawing.

- Photographs and drawings should not be combined in the same figure.

- The maximum size of the illustrations (including the legends) is 21cm (height) x 14cm (width); which should be reduced in cases exceeding these dimensions but always respecting the same proportions.

- Transverse and/or vertical laminas will be accepted which respect the width of the column (6.7cm) or the page (14cm). Dimensions should be indicated using a scale.

- Figures without a digital format should be mounted on cardboard ( lightly stuck, so that they may be easily removed) and protected with transparent paper; on the back of this support the figure number, author’s name, title, and abbreviated title of the manuscript should be noted.

- The original illustrations should be sent together with the definitive version of the manuscript.

9. Reprints

- The authors of each work will receive an electronic copy in portable document  format  (PDF); In addition, authors may request, at their cost, twenty-five or fifty reprints.These must be requested within ten working days of having being informed that the article has been accepted for publication.           

BIOLOGY OF AUSTRAL SPECIES

The objective of this new section of Kurtiziana  is to put at the disposition of the readers, in a condensed form,  all the information relating to vascular plants and  fungi of the extreme South of South America ( Argentina and  neighboring countries). The Biology of Austral  Species section has a dual purpose; on the one hand  that of the comprehension of their biology and ecology, and on the other hand to highlight aspects about which there is no  information available.    The latter aim is to  incentivate botanists, ecologists, geneticists, etc., to develop studies towards achieving a complete understanding of our species.

Articles should  respect  the defined sections, for example, introduction, geographic distribution etc. Shown below are a series of points related to each section which the author(s) should bear in mind, and which may be included separately, such as the subtitles within each section. If data related to a specific aspect for a determined species is unknown, it is important that this fact is pointed out in the manuscript. Although the minimum amount of knowledge required about a species is not established, there must exist ample information  about the species which are published. This information may be original or cited from other scientific works. The sections to be considered  in the manuscripts are the following ( although others may appear).

1- Introduction: Lamina or photograph of the species. Description of the species (family, phylogenetic aspects, common name(s)).

2- Geographical Distribution: With special reference to whether a species has a wide range of distribution or is endemic.

3- Habitat and Communities: Description of the number and type of habitats that a species occupies, the communities of which it forms a part, and whether of not it is subordinate or dominant.

4- Morphology: General aspects about leaf, flower, seed fruit and pollen morphology. Individual architecture. Cytogenetic characteristics (number of chromosones, genetic variation). In the case of fungi ; reproductive characteristics, microscopic characteristics of  vegetative and reproductive structures, and if possible, the culture characteristics.

5- Reproduction: Compatability levels, phenology, nectar, seed production, seed dispersion, hybrids.

6- Biological Interactions: Leaf, stem, flower, fruit and seed herbivory. Mycorrhizae or other types of interactions such as, for example, mycophiles and nitrogen fixers.

7- Ecophysiology: Chemical aspects (secondary products), seed germination, yolk and seed dormancy, morphology of seedlings. Nutritional requirements. Response to environmental factors.

8- Conservation: Problems or dangers of extinction or fall in population. Causes and consequences. Ethnobotanic uses.

9. General Conclusions ( tentative).

The manuscripts sent to Kutziana to be published in Biology of Austral Species will be evaluated as described for the other articles.

Original manuscripts will be sent to at least two anonymous referees and authors will be informed of the results of these evaluations (acceptance, corrections to be introduced to the text, or rejection) in a time period of not more than 60 days after submission of the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to send manuscipts by electronic mail to the email address: kurtzian@imbiv.unc.edu.ar. Articles not conforming to the editorial norms will be returned without being evaluated.