Please read these guidelines in full before you submit to AgroEnvironmental Sustainability. Manuscripts that do not follow the journal template are returned to the authors before peer review, which delays the whole process.
Manuscript Template (Mandatory): Download Cover Letter Template (Mandatory): Download Recommended Reviewer List Template (Optional): Download Response to Reviewers (only for revision): Download
Before Submission
Types of Papers
The journal publishes the following article types. Word limits cover the main text and exclude the reference list unless stated otherwise.
Original research articles: Up to 7000 words, and no more than 40 manuscript pages including tables and figures.
Review articles: Up to 10000 words. A review should analyse and compare the literature critically, not only summarise it, and should explain how the literature was searched and selected.
Short communications: Up to 3000 words including references, for new findings that are complete but limited in scope.
Case studies: Local or regional studies whose findings matter beyond the study site. Up to 7000 words and 40 manuscript pages including tables and figures.
Editorials: Letters to the editor and editorial commentary on developments in the field or in the journal.
State the article type at the top of the first page, as shown in the template.
Submission Requirements
Every submission must include the manuscript prepared in the journal template and a cover letter. Authors may also provide a list of suggested reviewers, but this is optional. The cover letter should explain in a few sentences what the study adds to the field and confirm that the work is not under consideration elsewhere. Submit through the journal's online system; manuscripts sent by email are not processed.
Title: Specific, informative, and no longer than 30 words. Avoid abbreviations and do not begin the title with "The".
Authors and affiliations: Give each author's full name, followed by laboratory, department, faculty, institution, city, postal code, and country. Each author needs an email address (an institutional address is preferred) and an ORCID iD. Link authors to affiliations with superscript numbers, for example John Michel1, Subodh Singh2.
Corresponding author: Mark the corresponding author with an asterisk (*). Where more than one corresponding author is named, one of them must be designated as the main contact, who handles all correspondence with the editorial office.
Abstract: A single paragraph of no more than 250 words, with no references. Cover, in this order: the research problem, the objectives, the study design and methods in brief, the main quantitative results, the overall outcome, and what the findings add to current knowledge.
Keywords: Four to six keywords, separated by semicolons and placed directly below the abstract. Avoid repeating words already in the title.
Statement of Sustainability: 50 to 100 words on what is new in the work and how it relates to one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Do not copy text from the abstract or conclusion. Manuscripts without this statement are not sent for review.
Graphical abstract: Required for all research articles, reviews, and case studies. It should be a single image of 5 x 3 inches (width x height) that shows the main message of the paper at a glance. It is placed after the Statement of Sustainability and is not counted as a figure.
Figures: No more than five. Place each figure in the text after the paragraph where it is first cited, as in the template, and give it a caption that explains all abbreviations and symbols. Cite figures in the text as (Figure 1), (Figure 2a), and so on. Figures must be sharp and legible; a resolution of at least 300 dpi is recommended. Upload the original figure files separately as well.
Tables: No more than five. Tables must be editable (not images), cited in the text as (Table 1), and have a caption above. Explain abbreviations, asterisks, and significance levels in a note below the table. Do not repeat the same values in a table and a figure.
Supplementary material: Datasets, extended methods, code, videos, and other files may be submitted as supplementary material, in up to two files with a combined size of 10 MB. Please compress them into a single zip archive. Supplementary files are published with the article as supplied and are not copyedited.
Nomenclature and units: Scientific names of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms must follow the relevant international code (for example the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, or the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) and be written in italics. At first mention in Materials and Methods, give chemicals by common name with the formula in brackets, for example hydrochloric acid (HCl). Follow IUPAC rules for systematic chemical names where needed, and report all measurements in SI units.
Equations: Write display equations with the Microsoft Word equation editor and number them consecutively as (1), (2), (3). Define every variable immediately after the equation. Symbols and short expressions within a sentence should be typed as plain text, not with the equation tool, as this causes errors during typesetting.
Article Organization/Structure
Prepare the manuscript in Microsoft Word using Times New Roman 12 pt, double line spacing, and justified text. Number sections as 1., 2., 3. and subsections as 1.1., 1.2., 2.1., 3.1.1., and so on. Research articles should follow the order below. Reviews may use topic-based headings in place of Materials and Methods and Results and Discussion, but must keep all front matter and end statements.
Title page: Article type, title, author names in the agreed order, affiliations, email addresses, ORCID iDs, and the corresponding author.
Abstract, keywords, Statement of Sustainability, and graphical abstract: In that order, as set out in the template.
Introduction: 700 to 1000 words, in paragraphs of at least 150 words each. Give the background, state the research problem, review the relevant literature and identify the gap the study addresses, and state the hypothesis. End with a paragraph that sets out the objectives in continuous prose rather than as a numbered or bulleted list.
Materials and Methods: Write this section under subheadings with enough detail for another researcher to repeat the work. Give the study area and its coordinates in degrees, minutes, and seconds (for example 41°24'12.2"N 2°10'26.5"E, using the degree symbol), sampling dates, study duration, climatic conditions, sample size, experimental design and treatments, and validation methods. For each major instrument, reagent, or software, give the model, manufacturer, city, and country in brackets, for example: absorbance was recorded with a UV-Vis spectrophotometer (Cary 60, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, USA). Cite the source of each established method. The last subsection should describe the statistical analysis and software used. Short communications may present this section without subheadings.
Results and Discussion: Present the main results, their statistical interpretation, the likely explanations, and how they compare with published studies. Do not repeat in the text the numbers already shown in tables or figures; describe the trends instead. Support every claim with data or a citation.
Conclusion: No more than 200 words. State the main findings, their significance, and any recommendations or directions for future work. Do not repeat the abstract or list numerical results.
Author Contributions: Describe each author's role using the CRediT roles listed in the template, in the order given there: Conceptualization; Data curation; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing. Use author initials.
Funding Information: Name each funder, its address, and the grant or project number, for example: "This research was funded by ABC Organization, City, Country (grant number XXXX)." If there was no external funding, state: "This research received no external funding."
Acknowledgments: Thank people and institutions who helped with the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as technical support, field assistance, or provision of materials.
Conflicts of Interest: Declare any financial, personal, institutional, or other relationship that could be seen to influence the work. If there is none, write: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."
Institutional/Ethical Approval: State whether the study required approval and, if so, name the approving committee and give the approval number and date. This applies to all work involving human participants, human data, or animals, and to field work that needed collection or access permits. If no approval was required, say so and briefly explain why. The editorial office may ask to see approval documents.
Data Availability Statement: Explain where the data supporting the results can be found, for example in a named public repository with its DOI or accession number, in the supplementary material, or from the corresponding author on reasonable request. If data cannot be shared, give the reason.
Declaration of AI Use: If generative AI tools were used for anything beyond basic grammar and spelling checks, name the tool and describe how it was used, as required by the journal's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.
References: The final section of the manuscript. See the reference style below.
Reference Style
The journal follows APA style (7th edition). Please check references carefully before submission; incomplete or incorrect references delay production.
Cite sources in the text by author and year: one author (Kumar, 2020); two authors (Kumar & Singh, 2020); three or more authors (Kumar et al., 2020). List several citations in chronological order, separated by semicolons: (Singh, 2018; Kumar et al., 2021).
Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every item in the list must be cited in the text.
Arrange the reference list alphabetically by the first author's surname, without numbers or bullet points, using a hanging indent of 0.5 inch.
Write journal names in full, not abbreviated. Include the DOI, formatted as https://doi.org/..., for every source that has one. Where there is no DOI, give a stable URL if available.
Cite recent literature wherever possible, and cite only sources you have read and that are directly relevant to the work. Unnecessary self-citation, or citations added at the request of a reviewer or editor without a scientific reason, are not acceptable.
Examples:
Journal article: Kumar, V., Kumar, P., & Ali, K. (2019). Optimization of PGPR and silicon fertilization using response surface methodology for enhanced growth, yield and biochemical parameters of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under saline stress. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 23, 101463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2019.101463
Book chapter: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx
Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (Edition). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx
Thesis or dissertation: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of thesis [Doctoral dissertation, Name of University]. Repository name. URL
Report or web page: Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL
Copyright
All articles are published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors keep the copyright in their work. Anyone may read, download, share, and adapt the article, including for commercial purposes, provided the original authors and source are credited. Before publication, all authors sign a publishing agreement that grants AgroEnvironmental Sustainability a non-exclusive licence to publish the article.
If the manuscript includes figures, tables, or text taken from other published sources, the authors must obtain permission from the rights holder where required and cite the source in the caption.
Plagiarism
Every submission is checked with iThenticate (Crossref Similarity Check) before it is considered for review. The similarity report is read by an editor, not judged on the number alone, because matches to methods descriptions, standard phrases, or properly quoted text are expected. As a general rule, manuscripts with an overall similarity above 10%, or with substantial overlap with any single source, are returned or declined. Where overlap is minor, the authors may be asked to rewrite the affected passages.
Reusing text, data, or figures from the authors' own earlier publications without citation is treated as plagiarism in the same way as copying from others. Figures, images, and tables must be original or used with permission and properly credited. Cases are handled under the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance; plagiarism found after publication may lead to a correction or retraction, as described in the journal's Retraction Policy.
After Submission
Peer Review Process
Each submission is first checked by the editorial office for completeness, formatting, and similarity. The Editor-in-Chief or a section editor then decides whether the manuscript is within the scope of the journal and of sufficient quality to be sent for review. Manuscripts that are outside the scope or have serious problems may be declined at this stage without external review.
The journal uses single-blind peer review: reviewers know who the authors are, but the authors are not told who the reviewers are. Each manuscript is assessed by at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the subject. Authors may suggest potential reviewers, but this is optional. Any suggested reviewers must not be recent collaborators, colleagues at the same institution, or otherwise connected to the authors. Reviewers are selected by the editor, who is not obliged to invite anyone the authors suggest and always invites at least one reviewer chosen independently of the authors' suggestions.
Reviewing depends on the availability of suitable experts. A first decision usually takes 15 to 60 days from submission. The editor's decision (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject) is based on the reviewer reports and the editor's own reading of the manuscript; it is not a vote count.
Revisions
When revision is requested, authors should return the revised manuscript with changes highlighted, together with a point-by-point response to each comment using the Response to Reviewers template. Where the authors disagree with a comment, they should explain why. Revised manuscripts are normally returned to the original reviewers. A revision request is not a promise of acceptance: a manuscript may still be declined if the revision does not resolve the main concerns, and the journal does not usually allow more than two rounds of major revision.
Appeals
Authors who believe a decision was based on an error or a misunderstanding may appeal by writing to info@sagens.org within 30 days of the decision. The appeal should set out the specific grounds. It is considered by an editor who was not involved in the original decision, and the outcome of the appeal is final.
After Acceptance
Article Processing Charges (APC)
The journal charges an article processing charge to cover the cost of open access publication. Current charges, waivers, and discounts are listed on the Article Processing Charges page. The charge is payable only after a manuscript has been accepted. The corresponding author receives payment instructions from the editorial office and pays through the publisher's online payment portal. Editorial decisions are made without reference to whether the authors are able to pay. Questions about the APC can be sent to info@sagens.org.
Production
Accepted manuscripts pass to production for copyediting, typesetting, and publication, in the following stages.
Under production article: After acceptance, the accepted manuscript is posted on the journal website as an "Under production/In press" article, so that the work is available without waiting for an issue. It stays at this stage until it is assigned to an issue. Assignment to an issue follows receipt of the APC, the signed publishing agreement, and the proof corrections, so authors are advised to complete these steps promptly.
Copyright assignment form: All authors sign the publishing agreement, which grants non-exclusive publishing rights to AgroEnvironmental Sustainability while the authors keep their copyright.
Proof corrections: The corresponding author receives a typeset proof to check for typesetting errors and accuracy. At this stage only corrections of errors are accepted; new content or changes to the results cannot be added.
Use of Manuscript Essential system: Proofs are prepared and corrected in the Manuscript Essential system by Sutrivia Solutions. Proof requests are sent from the journal's email address, so please check spam folders as well as the inbox. Authors can make corrections online and see the compiled PDF before approving it. No further changes are possible once the proof has been approved. The system's data handling and privacy policy is available at https://sagens.manuscriptessential.com/privacy-policy.
Final publication: The final version is published in an issue with its volume, issue, and page numbers and a registered DOI. Metadata and references are deposited with Crossref.
Authorship Changes
The author list should be settled before submission. Any addition, removal, or reordering of authors during review requires a request from the corresponding author explaining the reason, together with written agreement from every author, including any author being added or removed. Requests after acceptance are considered only in exceptional cases. After an article has been published, the author list can be changed only through a formal correction, following COPE guidance on changes to authorship.
Withdrawals/Erratum
Authors may withdraw a manuscript at any time before acceptance by writing to the editor with the reason. After acceptance, withdrawal is possible only for a sound reason, such as a serious error discovered by the authors, and needs the agreement of the editor. A published article cannot be withdrawn; instead, errors are dealt with by a correction (erratum) or, in serious cases, a retraction. To request a correction, the corresponding author should write to the editorial office describing the error and the proposed change. If the editors agree, a correction notice is published and linked to the original article.
Retractions
An article may be retracted if its findings are unreliable, whether through honest error or misconduct, or if it involves plagiarism, redundant publication, or unethical research. Before any decision is made, the authors are told about the concern and given the opportunity to respond. When an article is retracted, a retraction notice explaining the reason is published and linked to the article. The original article stays online, clearly marked as retracted, so that the scholarly record is preserved. The full procedure is set out in the journal's Retraction Policy.
the work is original, has not been published before (except as a preprint or thesis), and is not under consideration by another journal;
all authors have approved the submitted version and agree to its submission;
the data and results are genuine and have not been fabricated, falsified, or selectively reported;
all sources are properly cited, and permission has been obtained for any material reproduced from other sources;
all funding sources and any competing interests have been declared;
the necessary ethical approvals and permits were obtained for the research.
Submitting the same manuscript, or substantially the same work, to more than one journal at a time is misconduct. So is splitting one study into several papers without good reason. Suspected misconduct is handled under the journal's Research Integrity Issues Policy.
Languages
Manuscripts must be written in English. Either American or British spelling may be used, but consistently throughout. The text should be clear and free of grammatical errors; authors who are not confident in English are advised to have the manuscript checked by a colleague or an independent editing service before submission. Use of an editing service does not affect the editorial decision. Language should be neutral and respectful: avoid wording that is biased with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, or other personal characteristics, and do not promote or disparage any person, group, brand, product, or organization.
Title:AgroEnvironmental Sustainability Frequency: Quarterly ISSN: 2583-942X (Online) Co-Chief Editor(s): Prof. Ivan Širić and Dr. Pankaj Kumar Subject: Agriculture Language: English Publication Format: Online Publisher: Society for AgroEnvironmental Sustainability Address: 264/1 Badowala, Dehradun 248007, India Contact Email: info[at]sagens[dot]org Copyright: Author(s)
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