Editorial focus and readership
Unasylva, an international journal of forestry and forest industries, is produced quarterly in English, French and Spanish. Unasylva contains articles on all aspects of forestry: policy and planning; conservation and management of forest-based plants and animals; rural socio-economic development; species improvement; industrial development; international trade; and environmental impact, including the role of forests and trees in maintaining a sustainable base for agricultural production at micro and macro levels as well as the effects of environmental change on forestry.
Unasylva publishes articles specifically prepared for the journal, as opposed to technical papers. However, papers may be submitted for consideration, with the understanding that they will be edited to bring them into line with the overall style of the journal.
Original articles are preferred but the journal occasionally accepts articles judged to be of particular value that have been previously published with very limited distribution and with a limited readership overlap with Unasylva.
The readers of Unasylva represent five broad categories and articles should be of interest to as broad a cross-section of this readership as possible:
· government officials, in particular those of national forest services, and the administrative structures responsible for overall agricultural and rural development. This category also includes delegates attached to the United Nations and its specialized agencies as well as staff of governmental organizations dealing with forestry;
· non-governmental organizations dealing with forestry at local, national and international levels;
· forestry schools and institutes, their libraries and staff members;
· industrial forestry operations, both government and private;
· individual professional foresters, especially those concerned with international forestry.
Unasylva accepts unsolicited manuscripts; however. authors are encouraged to submit proposals for articles rather than finished manuscripts. This usually results in articles that are more in accordance with the editorial plans of the journal while increasing efficiency in terms of writing and editing time.
Manuscript preparation and style
Manuscripts may be submitted in English. French or Spanish. Articles should be typewritten double-spaced on A4 paper (21 x 30 cm). Articles should be between 2 000 and 4 000 words long; however, shorter or longer articles may be considered on occasion. If possible. the text should be submitted on a floppy computer disk. Name the word processing program used.
The first page of the article should be a title page, giving the full name, position and contact address (including telephone and fax if available) of the author(s). A brief abstract or summary of the article should also be provided. Subsequent pages should be numbered sequentially.
Articles should be written in plain, concise language and in a style that will make them accessible and interesting to forestry professionals in general, and not only to those with a vested interest in the topic being considered. Jargon should be avoided and technical terms that may be unfamiliar to readers should be defined the first time they appear. Footnotes should be avoided as far as possible.
Editing
In editing manuscripts, Unasylva will attempt to maintain the style and point of view of the author(s). Wherever possible, the author(s) will be consulted with respect to major changes. However, Unasylva reserves the right to edit all copy as deemed appropriate.
Measurement and numerals
All measurements should be given in the metric system. When monetary data are included in the article, a conversion to US dollars should be provided, using the current rate at the time the article is submitted.
Abbreviations and scientific names
Abbreviations and acronyms should be defined the first time they are used; for example, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Scientific names and words in languages other than that of the text should be in italics (or underlined if italics are not available).
Bibliographies
Articles should be accompanied by appropriate references. The style of Unasylva's bibliographies is as follows:
i) Last name of author, initials, last name of second author, initials, etc. Date. Book title. Place of publication, publisher.ii) Last name of author, initials. Date. Article title (in roman). Journal title (in italics), volume, issue number, page numbers.
Note: The term et al. is used for references in the text where there are four or more authors to be listed. It is never to be used in the bibliography where, instead, all authors must be named.
Illustrative material
Unasylva encourages authors to provide supporting illustrative material with manuscripts. Figures, graphs and drawings should each be on a separate page and the point of reference in the text should be identified. Figures are to be preferred to tables.
Unasylva reproduces photographs in black and white; however, originals may be submitted as black-and-white prints or negatives, or colour prints, negatives or slides (transparencies). Original material will be returned on request.
