Contribute to the Encyclopedia

Authored By: J. M. Pye, Y. Sands

At its launch in 2008, the initial content for the Encyclopedia of Forest Environmental Threats is drawn from the synthesis and case study papers submitted to the "Advances in Threat Assessment" conference in July 2006. These papers underwent peer review and are then subjected to technical and style editing for web and print.

Once this initial batch of papers is incorporated into the encyclopedia, we will be seeking and accepting additional submissions. The ability to continually expand to accommodate a growing body of knowledge is a major strength of an online encyclopedia such as this one. We encourage you to explore the information being offered on the site and identify gaps in coverage where you might contribute.

Author guidelines specific to papers submitted as part of the 2006 Conference are found at the bottom of this page. Immediately below are more general instructions and references for papers submitted to General Technical Reports, as found at the Southern Research Stations Author and Editor Toolkit. Check there for issues not covered in the above guidelines. The conference-specific instructions at the bottom take precedence over any of the following.

Contact John Pye with any styling or submission questions: jpye@fs.fed.us or (919) 549-4013.

Subsections found in Contribute to the Encyclopedia
 

Encyclopedia ID: p8

General Authoring Guidelines

Authored By:

Formatting details to meet the printed publication standards of the Southern and Pacific Northwest Research Stations will expand on these initial guidelines, which were drawn up so authors could have a paper ready to turn in July 18 2006 for peer review. Authors will have a chance to tighten up formatting when responding to peer review comments, and a technical editor will comment on the document after that. Critical guidelines at this point include:

Use styles to structure your content

Use the "Title" style for the title of your paper, and Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. to indicate headings and therefore document structure. You can verify this is working by using Words View, Document Map feature.

Use simple formatting

Use the attached document template or set your own to have Normal and/or Body Text to Times New Roman 10 point, with paragraph spacing set to 10 pts after. Minimize the use of extra spaces and carriage returns, and avoid using tabs. Sentences need to be separated by only one space. If you set the Normal style to have 10 pts after each paragraph you will not need a blank line between paragraphs, this is already set in the template. Use italics only for species names and use bold sparingly for emphasis. Reserve underlines for hyperlinks.

Summarize in the abstract

The abstract will appear on the top web page of your section. It should summarize and synthesize the content in the remainder of your paper. A person should be able to read the abstract and understand the overall organization, major issues covered by the paper, and important and useful results presented. The details supporting this material should be the main body of the paper.

Use the inverted pyramid

Place the most important information at the top, just like in a newspaper article. The first sentence is especially important, as we will use the first sentence after a heading as the description for that web page. Placing important information first lets readers quickly decide if they should continue reading that page. Text further down should expand on the information in the description and provide supporting detail.

Use Endnote or Reference Manager for citations

Using one of these programs to keep track of your references, insert your in-text citations, and build your References Cited section will spare you the tedious details of citation formatting and greatly assist you in the overall citing process, including locating and downloading citation information from online sources. Providing us your citations in this format will also help us import the citation information into the structured citation database used on the web. While we dont require that you use one of these programs, we do strongly encourage it. Contact John Pye at 919-549-4013 or jpye@fs.fed.us if youd like assistance with using these tools.

Format tables as tables

Use Words table function to construct your tables, or use Excel and then use Paste, Special, Formatted text to insert as a table. Put the tables after References Cited, forcing a new page at the start of each table using Insert, Break, Page Break or just Control-Enter. Tables can be as along as your manuscript length permits, but the web does not handle wide tables very well. Keep them narrow. We ask that you provide both a succinct title for navigation purposes and a lengthier description. If you use the provided template you can format table titles as "Table Title." The description can be in Body Text style.

Insert figures one per page

Original or public domain graphics are encouraged, with color preferred. Recognize that graphics on the web will be limited to about 1000 pixels wide and high, and preferably smaller. Insert your graphics using Insert, Picture, From File and then use Format, Picture, Size to set width to 3.38 inches. Make sure the details are sufficiently visible at this size. At final submission we will need each graphic in its own separate file, preferably EPS or TIFF (300 dpi). Graphics will look best if they use the blues, golds, greens and magentas found on the conference web site. Reasonable RGB values (in hex) would be 0000FF, FF9900, 336633, 800080 but you are not restricted to these. We ask that you provide for each figure both a short title for navigation purposes and a lengthier description. If you use the provided template, you can format figure titles as "Figure Title," the description can be in Body Text style. We need the description to convey to our audience the meaning of the graphic much like if you were describing it to someone over the phone.

Keep to length limits

As formatted above with one inch margins and Times New Roman 10 point font, we are allowing synthesis papers 20 pages of manuscript, and case study papers 10 pages. We will count tables based on their number of lines. Figures will count as one quarter page.

We are offering authors the option of submitting additional illustrations for the web at no charge to their page count. They will require text descriptions but will not be cited in the text nor included in the printed report. Contact John Pye for further instructions if you are interested in this option, 919-549-4013 or jpye@fs.fed.us

 

Encyclopedia ID: p133

Detailed Instructions for Papers for the 2006 Conference "Advances in Threat Assessment..."

Authored By: J. M. Pye

Conference papers will be simultaneously published by the Southern and Pacific Northwest Research Stations as a book-length General Technical Report and as part of the Forest Environmental Threats Encyclopedia at www.threats.forestencyclopedia.net. Dual publication on a rapid timeline poses a number of challenges. Following the guidelines below will help ensure your paper is published properly in both media.

Submission Overview: Manuscripts must be submitted in electronic format. If hardcopy is needed it will be requested. The Station prefers manuscripts prepared with MS Word software. If MS Word is unavailable, WordPerfect will be accepted if the manuscript is saved in Rich Text Format (.rtf).

Manuscripts can be submitted via email, anonymous FTP, CD, or 3.5-inch diskette (PC format). FTP uploads should be accompanied by an email message to jpye@fs.fed.us so files be transferred to a more permanent location.

John Pye
Southern Research Station
P.O. Box 12254
3041 E. Cornwallis Rd.
Research Triangle Park NC 27709

Email jpye@fs.fed.us
Phone (919) 549-4013
FTP is also available

Manuscripts will have received and properly addressed the concerns of at least two independent peer reviews, with additional oversight by conference organizers and associate editors. Authors will be responsible for the content and accuracy of their manuscripts.

Each manuscript will be edited for style by the Stations for printing in a consistent page layout. If the author fails to comply with these instructions, this job will become very time consuming. Excessive delays can prevent inclusion of the paper in the GTR and delay its appearance on the web.

General Formatting: When preparing the manuscript, the author should limit the use of control characters or special formatting. Use italics to indicate all Latin names, use bold sparingly for emphasis. Do not use other character format options. For symbols use Words Equation Editor. Do not use underlines except for hyperlinks. Do not use tabs. Do not use centered text, graphic lines; etc. unless instructed to do so. Use only one space after all punctuation (periods, colons, etc.). Use a sans serif font (Helvetica or Arial) in all graphics.

Use Words styles to indicate the structure of the document. The papers title should use the Title style, first level headings use Heading 1, second level headings Heading 2, and so forth. Three levels of headings should be sufficient. Every heading should be followed by some text. The body text should use style Normal or Body Text. Use the Word template provided by the conference organizers, or the default template provided in Word.

Set the normal or body text styles to 10-point Times New Roman or Times font, single-spaced, left justified, ragged right, no hyphenation. Make sure the page layout is set to single column with 1-inch margins all around.

Paper Title: Type the title and mark its style as "Title." To make it available under Format, Styles and Format you may need to select "Available formatting." If the title is longer than one line, allow it to wrap to the next line (i.e. don?t press Enter or otherwise force a new line).

Authors Names: Leave one blank line below the title and type the full name of the authors, centered, using initial capitals.

Author Identification: Leave one blank line below the authors names and type flush left the job title and complete address of each author. Text should be left justified, ragged right. If more than one author is at the same address, do not repeat the address. The layout person will move author identifications to the proper footnote.

Abstract: Leave one blank line below the author identification and type flush left the word "Abstract" followed by two dashes. Begin the text immediately after the dashes (no spaces). At the end of each line, allow the word processor to wrap to the next line. Do not use carriage returns except at the end of each paragraph. Do not hyphenate words at the end of lines. All text should be left justified, ragged right.

Body text: Leave one blank line below the abstract and type flush left your first heading. Style it as Heading 1, accepting the default format. On the next line (no blank line), begin typing the text at the left margin. Text should be left justified. Use the word wrap feature at the end of each line and do not hyphenate words at the end of lines.

Left justify all paragraphs, no paragraph indentions. Skip one line between each paragraph.

Headings: All section headings should be entered in plain text, selected, and set to the appropriate heading style using Format, Styles and Formatting. Make sure each heading has at least one paragraph of text before the next heading, even if it?s a lower level heading. An individual heading should not have more than six paragraphs of text. Avoid entering blank lines before or after headings.

Lists and Bulleted Items: Use Word?s Format, Bullets and Numbering choice. Use the first bullet and numbering styles offered (e.g. solid disk and Arabic number followed by a period). If an additional style is needed, select the next one offered.

Quotations: Do not indent or italicize quotations. Quote them, and for lengthier quotes set them off as their own paragraph--the layout person will convert them to the appropriate format.

Acknowledgments: This section, if needed, should be placed after the conclusions section under the first-degree heading, Acknowledgments.

Literature Cited: Arrange citations in alphabetical order. Type each literature citation as a separate paragraph, allowing the word processor to wrap at the end of each line. Do not indent. Hard carriage returns should only be used at the end of each citation. Separate each citation with one blank line. This section should be titled Literature Cited. Follow the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z39.29-1977) style for citing bibliographic references. Use of Endnote or similar bibliographic management tools is encouraged. Please include the library of citations used either as a traveling library attached as part of the Word manuscript or as a separate library file.

Use the author-date method to refer to literature in the text; for example, "More rapid runoff may result in increased peak flows (Brown 1980)" or "Later experiments by Miller (1980) showed... If several references are listed together, list them alphabetically (Adams and Smith 1980, Endres 1972, Peterson 1974). Use a comma, not a semicolon, between listings. If a manuscript has three or more authors, list the first author followed by "and others" (e.g., Clark and others 1986). Do not use "et al."

With one exception, only published material should be included in the references section. Manuscripts accepted for publication may be included. The notation "In press" appears in the same position as the publication date; for example: Haywood, J.D. [In press]. Plant communities in selected....

Footnotes: FOOTNOTES ARE DISCOURAGED. IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, USE ENDNOTES INSTEAD. Insert endnotes using Word?s Insert, Reference, Footnotes and Endnotes. Endnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript and placed after the references section. The layout person will place each footnote at the appropriate location. This section should be titled Endnotes.

Personal Communications: Reference to personal communications and unpublished data should be avoided. If it must be done, do so parenthetically in the text; for example: (Personal communication. John Doe. 1991. Silviculturist, Kisatchie National Forest, 2500 Shreveport Highway, Pineville, LA 71360). A complete address must be given as a means of contact.

Numbers and Units of Measurement: Throughout the manuscript, spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence, whole numbers from one through nine unless associated with a unit of measurement or money (7 m, 2 inches, 3 percent, $3), fractions standing alone or followed by "of a" or "of an," and preceding a unit modifier that contains a figure (ten 3-m logs). Use numerals when 2 or more numbers appear in a sentence and 1 of them is 10 or more. Note that metric units are abbreviated (7 m, 9 cm, 2 L, 3 mL), while English units are spelled out (2 inches, 3 feet, 4 square feet).

With one exception, use standard GPO abbreviations in the tables and text for units of measurement. Do not use "%" in the text, write out the word "percent" instead. The "%" sign can be used in the tables, however. Write out units of measurement when used alone in the text, units are usually abbreviated in tables. Do not mix metric and English units in the text. Use the one most appropriate.

State Abbreviations: States should be abbreviated when mentioned with the name of a town or county and spelled out when standing alone. Use the U.S. Postal Service two-letter State abbreviations.

Nomenclature: Scientific names set off in parentheses should follow the first mention of each common name in the abstract and again in the body of the manuscript. The authority is not necessary but if used should be consistent throughout. The genus, species, and variety names should be italicized. Do not underline the names. Common names or scientific names without the authority can be used thereafter. If the number of species is large, a list of common and scientific names can be included in an appendix following the references section.

Equations: Use Word?s Equation Editor or MathType software program to write equations. Equations should be broken out of the text, numbered at the right margin, and surrounded by extra space.

Placing Tables and Figures: Place all tables and figures at the end of the manuscript, forcing a new page before each new table or figure. See below for more detailed instructions on tables and figures.

Tables: Tables should be mentioned in the text and numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript. Always reference a table using the term "Table" as in "?shown in Table 3." Place all tables at the end of the manuscript following the references section and/or appendices and before the figures. Avoid large tables (over 1/2 page), and especially avoid wide tables.

Keep tables simple. Use a table editor to create tables. DO NOT USE THE SPACE BAR OR TABS TO ALIGN COLUMNS. Decimal tabs are permitted but only within table columns. Columns are easily aligned if the appropriate table features are used but require tedious reformatting or retyping if spaces or other improper procedures are used to force alignment.

Each table should have a complete title. In the title, insert two dashes after the table number; for example: Table 1--Mean live crown ratios for loblolly pine.... Do not place a period after the title. The web version will need a short title to use for navigation purposes. Include a short title on its own line below the caption and before the table itself or accept an editor writing one for you.

All columns must have headings. Capitalize only the first word of each column heading and proper nouns. Use lowercase letters for footnotes in each table beginning with "a." (See attached table examples for proper formatting). Simple table layouts are encouraged, complex nesting of headings can be difficult to render on the web.

Figures: Illustrations, such as charts, maps, drawings, and photographs are figures. Number figures in the order mentioned in the text. Minimize the use of text within figures, but when you do, use a sans-serif font, preferably Helvetica or Arial. SUBMIT A SEPARATE ELECTRONIC FILE OF EACH FIGURE GRAPHIC ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONS PROVIDED BELOW. Be prepared to provide a printed version if asked. Figure captions should be placed above each graphic and not in the graphic itself. Avoid footnotes in figures; include the information in the caption. In the caption, insert two dashes after the figure number (Figure 1--) and end the caption with a period. INCLUDE A DESCRIPTION OF EACH GRAPHIC, entered on a separate line below the caption and before the graphic. Descriptions are how we make your graphics accessible to those with impaired vision. They should make clear verbally the major point of the graphic or describe its appearance. These descriptions will not appear in the hardcopy publication.

Name each graphic file to reflect the conference, the corresponding author, and the figure number using the following pattern, substituting specific information for the bold text:

threatsconf2006-correspauthor-figure##.eps

Use of color in figures is encouraged. AVOID CREATING FIGURES IN MICROSOFT WORD or POWERPOINT. Drawings should be created in Macromedia Freehand, Adobe Illustrator, or similar illustration program. They must be rendered as vector graphics and not raster (bitmaps) and submitted in EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) format. Charts and graphs should be created in Excel, SigmaPlot, KaleidaGraph, DeltaGraph, or similar charting program. The submitted chart should be in either XLS or EPS formats. Maps and graphs produced in ArcView/ArcInfo and Sigma Plot should be saved or exported in editable EPS format?not EPS printer format. The editable format includes a thumbnail image in the graphic. We cannot use the figures embedded in the text of your manuscript, these will only be used as check-plots and to confirm figure numbering. All figures should be 100% of the final image size. (See the next paragraph for size constraints.)

Photos and remote sensing imagery that are inherently raster (bitmap) can be published in full color but must be of high quality and submitted as 300 dpi TIFF files or high resolution JPG.

All figures must be readable when viewed at 1024 x 768 pixels but still clear when printed at 300 dpi. Very complex graphics will probably not pass this test. In a limited number of cases, authors may be permitted to submit low resolution web and high resolution print versions of the same figure.

 

Encyclopedia ID: p134

Authors Checklist for Papers Submitted to the 2006 Conference

Authored By: J. M. Pye

Use the following checklist to help properly prepare your manuscript for publication.

  1. All parts of the manuscript are submitted in electronic formats (figures are sent as separate files). Hardcopy should be available upon request.
  2. Text?including literature citations, figure captions, and photograph captions?is double spaced; tables (including all parts) are single spaced.
  3. The corresponding author?s last name and page number are in the upper right corner of all pages.
  4. Working titles, affiliations, and addresses (city, State, and ZIP Code) of the authors are correct.
  5. The abstract (less than 300 words for case studies and 600 words for syntheses) and keywords (five to seven in alphabetic order) express the main points of the manuscript, including results and conclusions.
  6. Spelling of personal names, place names, trade names, and unusual terms is correct, including diacritical marks and capitalization in languages other than English.
  7. Headings are clearly distinguished from one another using appropriate level heading styles--document title using the Title style, first level headings using Heading 1, second level headings using Heading 2 and third level headings using Heading 3. Initial caps for all words except articles and connectors.
  8. Scientific names of trees, plants, and other organisms are included; authorities, if used at all, should be consistently used throughout the manuscript (authorities are not recommended unless commonly cited within the author?s discipline).
  9. The appropriate units of measure (metric or English) for the audience are used.
  10. Text footnotes are to be avoided where possible. If absolutely necessary they should be numbered and continuous, table footnotes are lower case italic letters and start anew with each table, and appendix footnotes are numbered and start anew with each appendix.
  11. Mention of cooperation or special acknowledgments, as necessary, is included before the literature citations.
  12. There is a citation for every reference and a reference for every citation (text, tables, or figures).
  13. Letters of permission to use copyrighted material, unpublished references, and personal communications are included.
  14. Tables are numbered and referred to in the order of appearance using the term "Table" or "Tables" (do not embed).
  15. Figures are numbered and referred to in order using the term ?Figure? or ?Figures?; Figure captions are listed above each figure, each of which appears on a separate page. Captions adequately explain the illustrations; each caption is followed by a description of the graphic to ensure the graphic is accessible to web visitors with visual impairments. Figures are located in the document after the tables.
  16. Each graphic is submitted as its own file in *.eps, *.xls, *.jpg or *.tif formats.
  17. MathType(R) or Words Equation Editor are used for mathematical equations (including in-line equations) and for all symbols
 

Encyclopedia ID: p135