Guide for Authors

Submission declaration

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis or as an electronic preprint), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language.

 

Changes to authorship

This policy concerns the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship of accepted manuscripts:

Before the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: Requests to add or remove an author, or to rearrange the author names, must be sent to the Journal Manager from the corresponding author of the accepted manuscript and must include: (a) the reason the name should be added or removed, or the author names rearranged and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, fax, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed. Requests that are not sent by the corresponding author will be forwarded by the Journal Manager to the corresponding author, who must follow the procedure as described above. Note that: (1) Journal Managers will inform the Journal Editors of any such requests and (2) publication of the accepted manuscript in an online issue is suspended until authorship has been agreed.

After the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: Any requests to add, delete, or rearrange author names in an article published in an online issue will follow the same policies as noted above and result in a corrigendum.

 

Language (usage and editing services)

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English Language Editing service of available from DESERT, can contact to journals’ email (desertrc@ut.ac.ir) for more information.

 

Submission

Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail removing the need for a paper trail. During the submission process, you will need to select a minimum of among classifications. Classifications will help the Editor to select appropriate Reviewers for your manuscript.

 

Submit your article

Please submit your article via http://jdesert.ut.ac.ir

 

Referees

All authors must suggest 2 reviewers on submission, together with their full addresses and email details. The suggested reviewers should not be a colleague, a close collaborator or in the same institutional location as the author(s).

 

Summary Guide and Checklist for Authors: Desert

This page is a summary of essential information. It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal's Editor for review.

 

Submission of an article to Desert implies that it is an original submission which has not been published previously or has not been submitted to any other journal. All authors must suggest 2 reviewers on submission, together with their full addresses and email details. The suggested reviewers should not be a colleague, a close collaborator or in the same institutional location as the author(s).

Before submitting a manuscript to Desert, please carefully read the Editorial Policy that can be found at the journal website. Be sure that the answer to the following question concerning the content of the manuscript is Yes:

 

- Does the paper focus on a Semi-arid, arid or desert ecosystem?

 

Use of word processing software

It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns.

Note that source files of figures, tables and text graphics will be required whether or not you embed your figures in the text. See also the section on Electronic artwork. To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check' functions of your word processor.

Use continuous line numbering throughout the document.

 Manuscript style

The language of the journal is English. 12-point type in one of the standard fonts: Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Courier is preferred. It is necessary to double-line space your manuscript. Figures should be uploaded as separate figure files.

Article structure

Subdivision - numbered sections

Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.

 

Introduction

State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

 

Material and methods

Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.

 

Results

Results should be clear and concise.

 

Discussion

This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

 

Conclusions

The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.

 

Appendices

If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

 

Essential title page information

Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

Author names and affiliations.Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.

Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that phone numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Contact details must be kept up to date by the corresponding author.

Present/permanent address.If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.

Abstract

A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself. An abstract, not exceeding 250 words should then follow. 

 

 

Highlights

Highlights are mandatory for this journal. They consist of a short collection of bullet points that convey the core findings of the article and should be submitted in a separate file in the online submission system. Please use 'Highlights' in the file name and include 3 to 5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters, including spaces, per bullet point).

 

Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

 

Abbreviations

Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

 

Acknowledgements

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).

 

Units

Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other units are mentioned, please give their equivalent in SI.

 

 

Math formulae

Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

 

Footnotes

Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many word processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of

footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

Table footnotes

Indicate each footnote in a table with a superscript lowercase letter.

 

Artwork

Electronic artwork

General points

• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.

• Embed the used fonts if the application provides that option.

• Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol, or use fonts that look similar.

• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.

• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.

• Provide captions to illustrations separately.

• Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the printed version.

• Submit each illustration as a separate file.

Formats

If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then please supply 'as is' in the native document format.

Regardless of the application used other than Microsoft Office, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'Save as' or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts.

TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.

TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi.

TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.

 

Color artwork

Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution.

Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting color figures to 'gray scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for color in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the color illustrations.

 

 

Figure captions

Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

 

Tables                                                               

Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

 

References

Citation in text

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either 'Unpublished results' or 'Personal communication'. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

 

Reference links

Increased discoverability of research and high quality peer review are ensured by online links to the sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as ISC, SID, Scopus, CrossRef and PubMed, please ensure that data provided in the references are correct. Please note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination may prevent link creation. When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors.

 

Web references

As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

 

References in a special issue

Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.

 

Reference formatting

There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any style or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), year of publication, journal title/book title, chapter title/article title, volume number/book chapter and the pagination must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged. The reference style used by the journal will be applied to the accepted article by DESERT at the proof stage. Note that missing data will be highlighted at proof stage for the author to correct. If you do wish to format the references yourself they should be arranged according to the following examples:

 

Reference style

Text:All citations in the text should refer to:

1. Single author:the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;

2. Two authors:both authors' names and the year of publication;

3. Three or more authors:first author's name followed by 'et al.' and the year of publication.

Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically.

Examples: 'as demonstrated in wheat (Ahmadi, 2000a, 2000b, 1999; Ahmadi and Jafari, 1999). Karimpour et al., (2010) have recently shown ....'

List:References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication.

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

Salajegheh, A., S. Dalfardi, 2013. Flood hydrograph analysis through employing physical attributes using two and multiple variables regression factor and cluster analysis. Desert, 17; 169-182.

 

Reference to a book:

Ahmadi, H., S. Feiznia, 2006. Quaternary formation. 4th ed., University of Tehran Press, Tehran.

 

Reference to a chapter in an edited book:

Mettam G.R., L.B. Adams, 2009. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, editors. Introduction to the electronic age. New York: E-Publishing Inc; p. 281–304.

Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51–9, and that for more than 6 authors the first 6 should be listed followed by "et al."

 

Reference to edidet book:

D'Odorico, P., ‎A. Porporato, (Eds.), 2006. Dryland Ecohydrology. Springer, Dordrecht.

 

Reference to a conference publication:

Keshtkar, A.R., H.R. Naseri, N. Mashhadi, 2013. The use of Artificial Neural Networks in the modeling of Integrated Water Resources Management. In: McCarthy, D.P. (Ed.). Proceedings of 10th International Congress on Water Resources Management, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand. pp. 154-163.

 

Reference to thesis:

Panahian, A.R., 2014. Carbon sequestration potential in different land use of roadside (Case study: Highway Eyvanakey-Garmsar). M.Sc. thesis, Desert Region Management Dept., International Desert Research Center (IDRC), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

 

Reference to report:

Keshtkar, A.R., 2013. Evaluation of Vetivergrass effectiveness as a biologic method in unconventional water treatment. International Desert Research Center (IDRC). Report number: 18, 117 p.

 

Reference to webpage:

NOAA, 2012. Ocean. Available from http://www.noaa.gov/ocean.html. Accessed 19th April 2014.

Submission checklist

The following list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.

Ensure that the following items are present:

One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:

• E-mail address;

• Full postal address;

• Phone numbers;

All necessary files have been uploaded, and contain:

• Keywords;

• All figure captions;

• All tables (including title, description, footnotes);

Further considerations

• Manuscript has been 'spell-checked' and 'grammar-checked';

• References are in the correct format for this journal;

• All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa;

• Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print, or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print;

• If only color on the Web is required, black-and-white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes

For any further information please visit our web site at http://jdesert.ut.ac.ir.

 

Manuscript Handling Fee
Authors are required to pay the manuscript handling fee for their manuscripts’ review and publication. The manuscript handling fee for Desert is IRR 3000000. Please note that the journal does not charge a submission fee  

 

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Online proof correction

Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail to edit text. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately - please upload all of your corrections within 48 hours. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

 

Copyright

Authors will be asked, upon acceptance of an article, to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher. This will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information under copyright laws.

Authors are requested to download the Copyright and Covering letter form. Authors can complete Covering letter in submitting process.Please send a completed and signed form either by mail or fax to the Journal of Desert Office.

The submitted materials may be considered for inclusion but can not be returned.