Brief Background
The Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (RBCS) is a peer-reviewed journal edited by the Brazilian Society of Soil Science, whose mission is to disseminate original and relevant contributions on new knowledge in the different areas of Soil Science, with a view to promoting the sustainable use of this resource, maintaining productivity and food security and mitigating climate change. The journal is published without discontinuity since 1977. After 1996, three numbers started to be published annually. From 1997 to 2002 and 2003 to 2015, the journal periodicity was four and six numbers published per year, respectively. During all these years, the journal was published in printed form. RBCS adopted electronic submission in 2007 with its own software, but in 2015, an internationally recognized submission and processing platform, ScholarOne, was adopted. In 2016, the journal was submitted to a significant restructuring when the electronic format was adopted; moved to a continuous publication model; the manuscripts started to be published exclusively in English, although it was optional since 2007; and the editorial and the manuscripts review process board was restructured. Throughout 2021, RBCS began planning to implement Open Science practices. In the near future, it is expected that all articles published in the journal will use Preprint servers, deposit their data in repositories, and be submitted to an open review process, which means that authors and reviewers know the identity of each other.
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Open Science Compliance
This journal follows the Gold Open Access model. Throughout 2021, RBCS began planning for the implementation of Open Science practices. In the near future, it is expected that all articles published in the journal will use Preprint servers, deposit their data in repositories and be subject to an open review process, i.e. where the identity of authors and reviewers is known to both. RBCS accepts and encourages, though does not currently oblige, depositing manuscripts in Preprint servers, and data and other article support materials in a data repository. In that respect, at the time of submission, it is necessary to fill out the Open Science Compliance Form: https://wp.scielo.org/wp-content/uploads/Open-Science-Compliance-Form_en.docx In line with good Open Science practices, RBCS has made progress in opening up the peer review process and publishing in the final article the names and ORCID of the editors responsible for conducting the evaluation.
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Ethics in Publication
The authors must declare in the cover letter of the manuscript that the ethical guidelines regarding the integrity of the research activities have been respected, as well as informing the sources of funding. If applicable, the author must state that the ethical principles adopted have been submitted to and approved by the ethics committee of the institution responsible for carrying out the research. Compliance with good research ethics practices is the sole responsibility of the authors. RBCS adopts the ethical guidelines of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to ensure integrity in all steps of the editorial process and the integrity of all those involved. Responsibilities and actions assumed by the journal to promote integrity in the publication process and procedures foreseen in cases of suspicion or proof of misconduct are described below. Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for implementing the policies established for publication and for supervising the publishing process and relations of the journal with the authors, reviewers, readers, indexers, research support agencies, the scientific community, and the general public. It is incumbent upon the Editor-in-Chief to designate Associate Editors based on their scientific production and area of soil science knowledge. In addition, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring transparency and quality control in the publishing process. Responsibilities of Associate Editors Associate Editors should ensure that the peer review process is based on academic neutrality and impartiality; safeguard the confidentiality of the reviewers; contribute to the investigation and evaluation of cases in which there is suspicion of misconduct or anti-ethical behavior; detect whether there are financial interests compromise the ethical standards of publication; ensure, in the best manner possible, that there is no plagiarism or fraudulent data or results; and ensure that the links indicated regarding Preprint deposit and/or data repository are valid and meet the criteria of RBCS. Responsibilities of the Reviewer Reviewers must respect the confidentiality of the review and non-disclosure of any manuscript detail during or after the review process, as well as the guidelines that RBCS promotes. The journal is committed to the principles of Open Science and will progressively offer reviewers and authors the possibility of revealing their identities if they so desire. Thus, reviewers must manifest their prior agreement through consultation made by the Editorial Committee. Reviewers must: decline to evaluate any text if there are, in view of their own analysis, conflicting interests; accept invitations only when they are able to carry out the assessment within the stipulated deadline; maintain confidentiality about revised texts; not use the information contained in the manuscript for their benefit until the publication of the article; verify that the data are available in open access repositories and that they are valid and reliable; indicate possible relevant published references that are not cited in the text.
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Focus and Scope
Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (RBCS), edited by the Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (SBCS), publishes peer-reviewed manuscripts. The RBCS aims to disseminate original and relevant contributions in different areas of Soil Science, promoting the sustainable use of this resource, maintaining productivity and food security, and mitigating climate change. Manuscripts submitted to the RBCS must fit within the themes of the SBCS’ Scientific Divisions and Commissions, which are consistent with those of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), as described below.
SOIL IN SPACE AND TIME Soil Genesis and Morphology Soil Survey and Classification Pedometrics Paleopedology
SOIL PROCESSES AND PROPERTIES Soil Biology Soil Physics Soil Mineralogy Soil Chemistry
SOIL USE AND MANAGEMENT Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition Lime and Fertilizer Soil and Water Management and Conservation Land Use Planning Soil Pollution, Remediation and Reclamation of Degraded Areas
SOIL, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY Soil Education and Public Perception of Soil Soil and Food Security History, Epistemology and Sociology of Soil Science
RBCS adopts an electronic format with e-ISSN 1806-9657 and is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY) international attribution 4.0. Accepted papers are continuously published on the RBCS website and on the Scientific Electronic Library Online SciELO-Brasil. |
Digital Preservation
This journal follows the standards defined in the SciELO Program's Digital Preservation Policy. |
Indexing Sources
Manuscripts published in Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo are indexed in the following databases: |
Bibliographic Journal Information
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Websites and Social Media
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Preprints
The new modus operandi in international science has aimed at greater accessibility, transparency, agility in sharing information, and cooperation. Depositing full studies in Preprint servers prior to or in parallel with submission of the manuscript is one of the aspects in achieving these objectives and is, therefore, a practice encouraged by RBCS. Authors should give priority to reliable Preprint servers, with transparency and ease of access, and they should preferentially have affinity to Soil Science (see recommendations on the site of RBCS). In accordance with good practices, the manuscript should be submitted to a single Preprint server. RBCS recommends that authors deposit their manuscripts in the SciELO Preprint. However, authors may also select reliable servers dedicated to disseminating studies within the area of Soil Science. During the peer review process conducted by RBCS, the authors should not use the comments of revisors and editors to improve the Preprint version. If the manuscript is rejected, the suggestions can be incorporated into the Preprint version. Immediately after the publication of the article in RBCS, the authors that have manuscripts in Preprint should communicate the DOI of the final publication to the Preprint server. |
Peer Review Process
The journal management is performed by the Editorial Board, composed of two Editors-in-Chief, a Technical Editor, and Associate Editors. The submitted manuscripts are forwarded by the technical editor for technical pre-screening. A general check is performed to ensure that the manuscript: i) is complete (i.e., title page, cover letter, main document, figures, and tables); ii) complies with instructions provided in the Guide for Authors; iii) is within of journal scope; and iv) is original, which means that the manuscript will be checked by an originality detection service. Submitted papers not meeting these requirements will be returned to the authors, who may re-submit their manuscript after corrections. A manuscript with accepted submission is assigned to one of an Associate Editor (AE), who verifies the manuscript suitability to the journal scope and, in additionality, he/she examines if the manuscript is novel in Soil Science. The AE also assesses the specific scientific merit, and then sends the manuscript to at least three ad hoc reviewers with appropriate knowledge, skills, methodological expertise, and experience to assess the manuscript. Based on the comments of at least two reviewers and on its own experience, the AE recommends if the manuscript should be rejected, accepted, or needs revision before acceptance for publication. The final decision is taken by the Editor-in-Chief, based on AE and reviewers’ recommendations. Manuscripts whose processing were interrupted by the AE, will also be forwarded to Editor-in-Chief for final decision. Other responsabilities of the Editor-in-Chief are coordinating activities developed by AE and reviewers, and keeping a communication channel with the authors. The manuscript processing is conducted without anonymity until reaching the AE, which means that identities are not disclosed only between authors and ad hoc reviewers. However, authors that choose to place their manuscripts in Preprint servers will be under the modality of single-blind review, in which only the identity of the authors is revealed. After concluding the corrections required by editors and reviewers, the author should submit a revision. After concluding the corrections required by editors and reviewers, the author should submit a revision. The author should access the author center (at ScholarOne) and click on Create a Revision. In step one, authors must prepare a text with general and specific answers to ALL questions raised and suggestions made by the reviewers and editorial board, indicating in which lines changes were made; this text should be inserted in a text box designated “your response”. In the following steps, the author will be required to upload the revised version of the manuscript (main document). In this step, the author must provide a main document file with ALL changes (deletions and additions) made in the revision process. All revisions should be clearly highlighted using the “Track Changes” function in Microsoft Word so that they are clearly visible to the editors and reviewers. A revised clean version of the manuscript must also be provided. In line with Open Science practices, RBCS has made progress in opening up the peer review process and publishing the names and ORCID of the editors responsible for conducting the evaluation in the final article. |
Open Data
In line with Open Science practices, it is desirable that, up to the time of publication of the article, the data, methods, program codes, images, videos, or other materials supporting the article be available through open access in a Data Repository. Exceptions are allowed in cases of legal and ethical issues. As part of good practices, the data should be deposited in a single repository. In selecting the data repository, check for its reliability, reputation, accessibility, and visibility, and if it is affiliated with recognized institutions. Check if it is aligned with the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles. RBCS accepts articles with their data deposited in the SciELO database or in other servers established for the purpose of deposit of research data related to soil science. Options for repositories directed to soil science can be accessed through the link: https://www.re3data.org. The Data Repository where the data are hosted must be cited in the text in accordance with the Guide to citing research data, preferably in the methodological section, included in the list of references and in the "Availability of Research Data" section. |
Fees
Publication expenses – including those of the peer review management, journal production, and online hosting and archiving – are covered by charging a publication fee. For Brazilian manuscripts in which the first author our corresponding author are members of the Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo – SBCS (Brazilian Soil Science Society), the publication fee per page is R$ 80.00. If the first author or the corresponding author are not members of the SBCS, the publication fee per page is R$ 200.00. For foreign authors, the RBCS adopts a policy that takes into account the development level of the authors’ country. The classification is done according to World Bank data released in 2019. Countries grouped in Class 1 will pay $ 100.00 per page, while countries from Classes 2, 3 and 4 will be charged in $ 80.00, $ 65.00 and $ 50 per page, respectively. To find out which class your country fits into, see the table below.
*The classification of this country was based on data from the World Bank and because it is member of the Latin American Soil Science Society. |
Ethics and Misconduct, Correction and Retraction Policy
The RBCS ensures that all authors review and certifiably accept responsibility for the content published and register individual contributions to the manuscript. If there is any authorship question, the corresponding author is contacted, and if necessary, the contact is extended to the other authors. In the event of an impasse, the institutions of affiliation of the authors or the funding institutions involved in the research development are consulted. The journal uses the IThenticate Plagiarism Detection Software to check for duplications of already published texts to ensure the originality of the texts. In the event of an occurrence of similarity, the Editor-in-Chief contacts the corresponding author for clarification and, if necessary, contacts all the authors. If duplication is proven, the institutions of affiliation of the authors or the funding institutions involved in the development of the research are contacted. In cases of doubt involving citations given and respective references, the document cited is checked or requested to be sent. If greater clarification is necessary, the Editor-in-Chief will contact the corresponding author and, if necessary, all the authors. If editors or reviewers identify an excess of self-citation of authors and/or of the journal during the editorial process, the corresponding author will be contacted and, if necessary, all the other authors as well, who will provide clarification as a basis for making a decision. Editors and reviewers should practice impartiality, integrity, and confidentiality in their evaluation, prioritizing constructive criticism and the deadline agreed upon with the journal. When there are doubts or questions, the Editor-in-Chief should contact the corresponding assistant editor and/or the reviewers. Fabricating or falsifying data and images is serious misconduct. RBCS has a careful evaluation process in identifying such misconduct and, if there are questions concerning the origin of the data, the authors will be required to send information corroborating the methodology and the results presented. If misconduct is identified, the institutions of affiliation of the authors or the funding institutions involved in development of the research will be informed. Suspicions of possible cases of misconduct can be sent to the e-mail: autores@sbcs.org.br. Suspicions of misconduct will be investigated by the journal under the highest academic and ethical rigor standards so that all questions are settled. RBCS is committed to publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and notes of concern if necessary. In the face of any complaint or observation of misconduct of whatever party, the editorial process of the manuscript under investigation will be suspended, and all parties involved will be informed of the reason for this action. The evaluation process can be resumed if misconduct is not substantiated. Otherwise, depending on the party involved, one or more actions can be taken: the manuscript will be removed from the process; the journal will not receive submissions from the group of authors; the editor will be removed from his/her functions in the journal; or the reviewer will not provide further contributions to the journal. A published article, in which misconduct is identified, remains indexed in the SciELO database under the condition of being retracted. The retraction documents the reason for the retraction, which will be duly referenced through communication of the author or editor or other authorized agent, and published in the same journal. The retraction may be partial when the misconduct applies to a specific part of the article, without, however, compromising the whole of the published study. The article cannot be “unpublished”. Cases of errors or flaws, regardless of their nature or origin, that do not constitute misconduct, are corrected through errata / corrigenda. The journal will publish errata, corrigenda, or retractions as quickly as possible.
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Policy on Conflict of Interest
Conflicts of interest can be of a personal, commercial, political, academic or financial nature. Conflicts of interest can occur when authors, reviewers or editors have interests that may influence the preparation or evaluation of manuscripts. When submitting the manuscript, authors are responsible for recognizing and disclosing financial or other conflicts that may have influenced the research. If there is, even potentially, a conflict of interest, the author(s) must disclose this in a signed document attached to the submission platform. For more information see: Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest. Editors and reviewers must also disclose any conflicts of interest that may influence their evaluation and decision and, if applicable, declare themselves unsuitable to proceed with processing to avoid compromising ethical standards in the publication. |
Adoption of similarity software
The originality of the manuscripts is ensured by the journal using the IThenticate Plagiarism Detection Software, which checks for duplicates with previously published texts at the time of submission and after acceptance. If the presence of a high degree of similarity with an already published text is detected, the corresponding author will be contacted for adjustments to the text. If the issue persists, the article may be rejected in view of the requirement for originality. |
Gender and Sex Issues
The editorial team of the Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, and the authors who publish in the magazine, must adhere the Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER guidelines to report sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, and results and interpretation of findings. Furthermore, the RBCS observes the gender equity policy in the formation of its editorial board. RBCS recognizes the importance of valuing diversity and, in all stages of processing, evaluating, and disseminating scientific research, adopts and encourages editors, authors, reviewers and other members of the editorial team to transmit respect to all people through adoption of inclusive language that promotes equal opportunities. The material processed by the periodical must not promote mentions that place a group in a superior position due to their age group, sex, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition. Communication at all stages of publishing must be free from prejudices, stereotypes, slang, references to dominant cultures and assumptions about ideal cultural standards. When writing, it is recommended to seek gender neutrality and avoid the use of adjectives that refer to the description of personal characteristics (age, sex, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition). Use is justified only if it is relevant and valid for the accurate information of the research. Expressions that, due to their ambiguous nature, are exclusionary and offensive, should be avoided, such as: slave, black list, white list, etc. These guidelines are a starting point to assist the editorial team and authors in using appropriate language, however, they do not exhaust the full scope of the topic. |
Ethics Committee
When the research involves human beings or sensitive data that does not fit the exemption situations set out in Article 26 of Resolution CNS No. 674/2022, the authors must attach, at the time of submission, of a declaration of approval from the Ethics Committee of the institution responsible for the research |
Copyright
The content of RBCS is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The author retains the copyright to the published article and the journal retains the right of first publication. The license allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any publication medium, as long as the author and the original source are credited. |
Intellectual Property and Terms of Use
Journal's responsibility The article published in RBCS will be made available on the journal's website (www.rbcs.org.br) and in the SciELO electronic library (www.scielo.br) or in other databases that the journal may be indexed in the future. The content of RBCS is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any publication medium, provided that the author and original source are credited.
Authors' responsibility Authors of articles published by RBCS retain the copyright of their research, licensing it under the Creative Commons Attribution license, which allows articles to be reused and distributed without restriction, as long as the original study is correctly cited. The ideas and opinions expressed in the article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine. RBCS encourages Authors to self-archive their accepted manuscripts, publishing them on personal blogs, institutional repositories and academic social media, as well as posting them on their personal social media, as long as the full citation to the journal's website version is included. |
Sponsors and Promotion Agencies
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Editor-in-Chief
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Associate or Section Editors
Soil Genesis and Morphology
Soil Survey and Classification
Pedometrics
Soil Biology
Soil Physics
Soil Mineralogy
Soil Chemistry
Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition, Lime and Fertilizer, Soil Pollution, Remediation and Reclamation of Degraded Areas
Soil and Water Management and Conservation, Land Use Planning
Soil Education and Public Perception of Soil, Soil and Food Security, History, Epistemology and Sociology of Soil Science
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Technical Team
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Language
Although the journal only publishes manuscripts in English, RBCS accepts manuscripts written in Portuguese and English. The manuscripts submitted should be revised by a professional, particularly if English is not the author’s native language. The pre-submission revision is not mandatory but it may ensure that the scientific content is fully understood by the editors and reviewers. The review process of manuscripts with inappropriate English will be interrupted/rejected by the editors or reviewer(s). Even after approval, the editors/reviewers may request, if necessary, a text revision by one of the specialists indicated herein. If the manuscript was submitted in Portuguese, after approval, it must be translated by a professional reviewer indicated by the RBCS. The translation cost is supported by the authors. |
Exclusivity and originality
Manuscripts submitted or published, even in partial form, in another journal will not be accepted. This exclusivity must be declared in the cover letter. Manuscripts whose content has been published in the form of an abstract, published lecture, or academic thesis/dissertation/monography are accepted. The lack of conformity of the manuscript regarding exclusivity and originality will be the sole responsibility of the corresponding author. Depositing manuscripts in Preprint servers does not characterize previous publication. RBCS accepts and even encourages that manuscripts be deposited in these servers. |
Competing interests
The cover letter should contain a declaration of any competing interests or of the absence of competing interests of a financial, personal, or any other nature that may have influenced production of the manuscript. |
Authors
All authors must have an Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID iD), which will be required during submission to ScholarOneTM. The following link: https://www.rbcsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ORCID.x36232.pdf contains instructions on how to insert the Orcid id in ScholarOne. The corresponding author must declare in the cover letter that all authors are aware of and have approved the manuscript submission. The lack of awareness or disagreement with the submission by any one of the authors will result in interruption in processing of the manuscript. The corresponding author can not be changed. Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made before the manuscript is accepted. The contribution of each author to the research proposal, implementation, data and analysis, and writing of the manuscript must also be declared in the title page, according to the criteria established by the CRediT – Contributor Roles Taxonomy. |
Manuscript
Manuscripts must be in accordance with the standards for scientific writing. The publication of an experiment in parts (fractionation of the content) should be avoided, but if it proves necessary, these manuscripts should be submitted in sequence, and indicated in corresponding cover letters. RBCS accepts the following manuscript types:
Original research papers (Regular papers) – They should be based on an original scientific hypothesis that has not yet been clarified. The hypothesis must be tested through experimentation and/or theoretical models and based on the scientific method, with adequate statistical planning and discussion. Priority will be given to manuscripts that contribute to the understanding of processes and mechanisms occurring in the soil. Comparisons of methods, varieties, types of management, etc. may, exceptionally, be considered for publication as a scientific article when they provide a well-argued and/or logical scientific basis, if they solve an important problem in the field, or if there is a significant conceptual advance. It is desirable that the manuscript follows the formal structure (Title, Highlights, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References and may contain Tables and Figures). However, as long as duly justified in the cover letter, this structure can be changed for a better presentation of the manuscript’s content. The inclusion of supplementary material is allowed (see Submission).
Methods Papers – This describes significant advances and innovative aspects of a technique, a device/instrument, a new species, or observations and data collection limited to non-repeatable experiments or other unique situations. It is not an article of inferior quality, and it has the same scientific value as an original research publication. This type of manuscript is, in general, shorter than the scientific article. It may have the conventional structure required for original research papers. Supplementary material is also allowed.
Review articles – This type of manuscript may be submitted spontaneously or through invitation by the Editor-in-Chief, but the same review process will be used for approval. Review articles should report the state of knowledge on a specific topic, be analytical and critical, and present suggestions for future research.
Mini-Reviews – These are short and timely reviews about the recent advances in Soil Science. Authors that wish to prepare a mini-review are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief prior to submitting a manuscript. Mini-reviews should present less than 2500 words, 50 references, and four figures or tables.
Opinion Papers – These present a personal and original perspective on an important research topic related to Soil Science. They should aim to stimulate debate or new research, cover controversial topics, or provide a new framework for, or interpretation of, an old problem or current issue, or speculate on the implications of some recent research.
Letter to the editor – This should be a critical comment on a manuscript published by RBCS. In the latter case, the right of counter argument will be granted to the authors.
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Prior to submission – PREPRINT
The new modus operandi in international science has aimed at greater accessibility, transparency, agility in sharing information, and cooperation. Depositing full studies in Preprint servers prior to or in parallel with submission of the manuscript is one of the aspects in achieving these objectives and is, therefore, a practice encouraged by RBCS. |
MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
All manuscripts must be submitted online through ScholarOneTM, an online submission and paper management system, which can be accessed using the following links: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_serial&pid=0100-0683&lng=en&nrm=iso https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/rbcs-scielo. The documents required for submission are the cover letter, title page, Open Science Compliance Form, and main document. Tables, figures, and supplemental files are optional. |
Formatting requirements
All documents should be created using word processing software, preferably Microsoft Word. The text should be left aligned, in a 12-point font, and with 1.5 line spacing throughout the entire document. Manuscripts should be prepared without line numbering, since the online submission system will perform this automatically when converting the submitted files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. |
Cover letter
The cover letter must contain: 1) manuscript title; 2) a statement that the paper is original and that neither the manuscript nor any part of its content was previously published in print or electronical form and that they are not under consideration for publication by any other journal or electronic medium; 3) a statement certifying that all authors approved the submitted manuscript; 4) a statement that there is no competing interest (financial, personal, or institutional) associated with the information and results disclosed in the manuscript; and 5) information about the relevance of the manuscript, in which the authors indicate the suitability of the manuscript within the scope of the RBCS, highlight the problem, hypothesis, and objectives, and emphasize the main findings and why they are significant to increasing knowledge in the area of soil science. Item 5 is used in the preliminary assessment of the scientific merit of the article and can be decisive as to whether or not it goes forward. |
Title page
The title page must contain the manuscript title and authors’ names without abbreviation and without academic degrees. The current authors’ affiliation and addresses should be presented below the names, indicating the institution (university, institute, research center, etc.), department, graduate program, city, state, and country, without abbreviation and translation. Link all affiliations with their respective authors using a superscript number in parentheses immediately after the author’s name and before the institutional address. It is necessary to signal the corresponding author with an asterisk and indicate his/her email and cell phone number. Individuals who assisted the research (e.g., language assistance, writing assistance, proofreading the article, etc.) and public or private organizations/institutions that provided financial or logistical support to conduct the study should also be acknowledged. The contribution of each author to the conception and production of the manuscript must be declared on the Title Page according to the criteria established by CRediT - Contributor Roles Taxonomy. |
Open Science Compliance Form
RBCS accepts and encourages, though does not currently oblige, depositing manuscripts in Preprint servers, and data and other article support materials in a data repository. In that respect, at the time of submission, it is necessary to fill out the Open Science Compliance Form. |
Main document
The main document must contain title, highlights, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, or results and discussion, conclusions, and references.
Title: It should be concise and informative of no more than 20 words, avoiding symbols, abbreviations, and formulae. Consider that titles are often used in information-retrieval systems.
Highlights: This section is for provision of 3-5 bullet points that convey the core findings detailed in the manuscript. Each bullet point may have a maximum of 85 characters, including spaces.
Abstract: The abstract must be concise, factual, and informative, not exceeding 400 words. The abstract is an independent section, often presented separately from the manuscript; therefore, it must be able to stand alone and supply the main information about the manuscript. The abstract must start with a brief sentence that clearly introduces the problem and the relevance of the manuscript. The objective should be explicitly stated. It must present relevant information about materials and methods, the main results, and major conclusions. References, symbols, and non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided. If it is necessary to use symbols or abbreviations, they must be defined in the abstract itself when first mentioned.
Keywords: Up to five relevant keywords can be selected, which must differ from the words used in the manuscript title. Prepositions and conjunctions (of, or, and) should be avoided, as well as terms composed of more than three words. Only abbreviations that are firmly established may be appropriate.
Introduction: The introduction must be clear and concise, but sufficient to present the problem addressed and show existing gaps in knowledge. Bibliographic citations should be specific and selected from the most relevant and recent studies, preferably from journals with high impact factors. Theses, dissertations, newsletters, congress proceedings, and documents that are difficult to access should be avoided. The hypothesis should be explicitly stated. A hypothesis is a statement (written in the present tense) that establishes a cause-effect relationship, and it should be supported or rejected through the experimentation; it is to be used to construct the conclusions. The objectives should be stated at the end of the introduction.
Materials and methods: This section can be subdivided into short headings referring to the methods/procedures adopted. The information should be organized in a logical manner to enable full understanding. Materials and methods should provide sufficient details to allow the study to be replicated by an independent researcher. Field studies should contain the location of data collection, with geographic coordinates, climatic conditions, and soil classification. Manuscripts describing research carried out in Brazil must have soil classification according to the Brazilian Soil Classification System (SiBCS, edition 2018), along with equivalent classification (in parentheses) consistent with international systems (Soil Taxonomy or WRB). To classify the soils according to the international systems, the authors should access the Table of Partial Equivalence provided on this website or in Appendix J (Anexo J) of the SiBCS. Manuscripts from foreign authors, with soils completely analyzed and classified based on WRB or Soil Taxonomy, are not required to use the SiBCS. Methods that are well known and already published should be indicated by a reference, and only relevant modifications should be described. Specific reagents and models and brands of equipment should be cited only if this information is essential for replicating the study. The experimental design and the statistical methods used to analyze the data should be clearly described. Software used in the statistical analysis should be indicated only if relevant.
Results: Results must be clear and concise. They should be presented using tables or, preferably, figures containing graphics, images, or schematic models. The use of more than four tables and four figures should be avoided, as well as restating numeric values that have already been presented in tables and figures. Tables and figures should be presented throughout the text as “table 1” or “figure 2”, using a lowercase letter; or highlighted in parenthesis (Table 1 or Figure 2).
Discussion: In this section, the authors should present the significance of the results obtained, without repeating them. Scientific evidences that support the acceptance or rejection of the research hypothesis should be presented. The discussion should support the conclusions. Avoid excessive citations, such as those used to point out basic concepts or common knowledge.
Results and Discussion: RBCS accepts that results and discussion be written in a single topic, although the journal encourages that they be presented in separate topics. For both situations the specific recommendations are the same.
Conclusions: Conclusions should be consistent with the hypothesis(es) and objective(s). Conclusions should be presented in a short, clear, and concise text, without further discussion; and results should not be repeated here. This section must stand by itself, without the need to return to the results and discussion sections. Do not use bulleted or numbered lists to organize the conclusions.
Supplementary Files: Supplementary provides a more concise and clearer manuscript. Supplementary material includes tables, figures, schematic models, photographs, and datasheets that are additional or complementary to support the scientific paper. All supplementary material should contain a concise and descriptive caption. The supplementary material should not be cited in the main manuscript text. Supplementary material will be published as received from the author, without any conversion, editing, or reformatting; therefore, it should be clearly and succinctly presented, and its format should be in conformity with that adopted for the whole paper. If the manuscript has supplementary material, add a section called “Supplementary data” after the conclusions. This section must contain the following information: “Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/XXX”.
Availability of research data: In the editing phase, the corresponding author will be asked to provide information on the research data related to the article, with the following options: (1) The data is available at (cite the repository and DOI of the deposited data); (2) The data will be provided upon request; (3) All data was generated or analyzed in this study; (4) Not applicable.
Funding: Acknowledgments should be made for the financial support received from funding institutions for carrying out the research and/or writing the manuscript, if any. The name of the funding agency should be written out in full, followed by the grant number. If the research has not been funded by a specific project grant, the following information should be included: "This research has not received a specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors".
Acknowledgements: These should include the collaboration of people, groups or institutions that deserve recognition, but have not justified their inclusion as authors.
References: Every reference cited in the text should be included in the References list (and vice versa). It is not necessary to use a specific reference style at submission, as long as the style is consistent. The reference style adopted by the journal (adapted Vancouver style) will be mandatory only for accepted manuscripts. The formatting requirements are shown below. The RBCS has a reference template available in two of the most popular reference management software programs: Mendeley and Zotero. Using citation plug-ins from these programs, the authors only need to select our journal template when preparing their article, after which citations and bibliographies will be automatically formatted in the style of our journal. Users of Mendeley Desktop or Zotero can easily install the template of the Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo by the programs or by the link: https://www.sbcs.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/rbcs.csl_.zip. This style can then be selected using the Mendeley/Zotero plugins for Microsoft Word or LibreOffice in preparation of the manuscript. If the data of the article are deposited in a data repository or if the authors use data from a third party, these data must be cited in the manuscript and included in the Bibliographical References. Information on personal communication should not be placed in the References list. Manuscripts deposited in Preprint servers can be cited; however, the use of information not validated by a peer review process is under the responsibility of the authors. The References list should be organized 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 letters (‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc.), placed after the year of publication. Do not translate the references; they should be presented in their original language. The format of the references and citations must follow the guidelines presented in this Guide. If reference management software is used, ensure that all field codes are removed before submitting the electronic manuscript.
Citations in the text Citations may be made directly or parenthetically – for example: Ferguson (2016) or (Ferguson, 2016). Manuscripts with two authors should be cited as Author 1 and Author 2 (year) or (Author 1 and Author 2, year) – for example: Silva and Smith (1975) or (Silva and Smith, 1975). Manuscripts with three or more authors should be cited using the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” and the year of publication – for example: Roberts et al. (2015) or (Roberts et al., 2015). Groups of references should be listed first chronologically, then alphabetically – for example: (Mercato et al., 2005; Tanaka and Yano, 2005; Ferreira et al., 2006; Jackson et al., 2008). References from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by letters ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc., placed after the year of publication – for example: Silva (1975a,b) or (Silva, 1975a,b). Personal communication should be used only if absolutely necessary. In this case, the citation should be made indicating the communicator’s name, followed by the year, both in parentheses. Personal communication should not be included in the References section, but should be linked to a numbered footnote, with the communicator’s name, the date when the information was collected, and the state and country of her/his institutional address.
Reference to a journal publication Author AA, Author BB. Title of the manuscript. Abbreviated title of the journal. Year of publication; volume: beginning and ending pages. DOI. Journal names should be abbreviated according to https://www.library.caltech.edu/journal-title-abbreviations. Examples: Camargo LA, Marques Júnior J, Pereira GT. Spatial variability of physical properties of an Alfisol under different hillslope curvatures. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2010;34:617-30. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-06832010000300003 Brown DJ, Shepherd KD, Walsh MG, Mays MD, Reinsch TG. Global soil characterization with VNIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Geoderma. 2006;132:273-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2005.04.025
Reference to a book Author AA, Author BB. Title of book. Number of the edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher; year of publication. Examples: Klug HP, Alexander LE. X-ray diffraction procedures for polycrystalline and amorphous materials. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1974. Ab’Sáber A. Os domínios de natureza no Brasil: potencialidades paisagísticas. 7. ed. São Paulo: Ateliê Editorial; 2012.
Reference to a book chapter Author AA, Author BB. Title of the referenced part, followed by In: Editor AA, Editor BB, editors. Title of the publication. Number of the edition. Place of publication: Publisher; year of publication. Beginning and ending pages. Examples: Jackson ML. Chemical composition of soil. In: Bear FE, editor. Chemistry of the soil. 2nd ed. New York: Reinhold; 1964. p. 71-141. Sharpley AN, Rekolainen S. Phosphorus in agriculture and its environmental implications. In: Tunney H, Carton OT, Brookes PC, Johnston AE, editors. Phosphorus loss from soil to water. New York: CAB International; 1997. p. 1-53.
Reference to conference proceedings Author AA, Author BB. Title of conference paper. In: type of publication, number, and title of the event [CD-ROM, when published in this format]; date of the event (year month day); city and country where meeting was held. City (of the publisher): publisher or institution responsible for the publication; year of the edition (not always the same as the event). Pages of the study or the abstract. Examples: Bailey TB, Swan JB, Higgs RL, Paulson WH. Long-term tillage effects on continuous corn yields. In: 8th Annual conference proceedings – Annual conference on applied statistics in agriculture; 1996 Apr 28-30; Manhattan, Kansas. Manhattan: Kansas State University Libraries; 1996. p. 17-32.
Reference to an electronic source Author AA, Author BB (use the name of the organization if no individual author or editor is named). Title of referenced material. Place of publication: Publisher; year [cited year month day]. Available from: URL Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements – IRMM. Certified reference material BCR – 142R; 2007 [cited 2016 Jan 18]. Available from: http://www.lgcstandards.com/medias/sys_master/pdfs/pdfs/ha6/hc4/9208111169566/BCR-142R-ST-WB-CERT-1515931-1-1-1.pdf.
Reference to a thesis, dissertation, or monograph Author AA. Title (include the subtitle if there is one) [academic degree]. City: institution where it was defended; year. Example: Brienza S Jr. Biomass dynamics of fallow vegetation enriched with leguminous trees in the Eastern Amazon of Brazil [thesis]. Göttingen: University of Göttingen; 1999. Reference to information in data repositories Author AA. Data from: Title of dataset [dataset]. In: Data repository [internet]. City (State); year [cited 2020 Sep 10]. Available from: electronic identifier or url. Example: Rabia AH. Data from: Spatial distribution of heavy metal contamination in soils using remote sensing and GIS techniques [dataset]. In: Figshare [internet]. Athens (Georgia); 2019 [cited 2020 Sep 14]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9036815.v1
Preprint Author AA. Title of manuscript. To be published in Name of Journal (if accepted). Preprint Server [Preprint]. Year [cited year month day]. Available from: electronic identifier or url. Ugaz-Hoyos J, Vega-Cruz H, Iglesias-Osores S. Biosurfactants in the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. SciELO Preprint [Preprint]. 2020 [cited 2020 Sep 14]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.642
Tables: Submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables should not be included in the main document and they should have portrait (not landscape) orientation. They should be numbered sequentially with Arabic numbers. Each table should be self-explanatory, containing the elements that allow readers to understand the content of the table without having to go back to the text. The descriptive title above the table should be brief, but with enough information to describe the variables and their cause-effect relationships. Supplementary information should be placed in footnotes (for example, the methodologies used to determine the values of the properties presented in the table). The footnotes should be indicated by superscript numbers in parentheses (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the body of the table. Horizontal lines should only be used in header lines to highlight variables and in the last line of the table. Units should be placed in the body of the table, on the first line above the numerical values (results). Vertical and horizontal lines should not appear in the body of the table. Tables should be created using a table tool of text editing software, preferably from MS Word or MS Excel. Avoid tables that have only a few rows and columns; try stating the findings in a few sentences. Information that would create small tables can often be presented better in the text. Do not insert blank columns or rows. Asterisks or letters next to values indicating statistical significance should appear in the same cell as the value, not in an adjacent cell (i.e., they should not have their own column). Revisions, such as adjustments of tables, may be requested after manuscript acceptance.
Figures: Figures include representations of two- or three-dimensional graphs, images, and schematic models. Figures should be included at the end of the main document. Figures should have a portrait (not landscape) orientation and be numbered sequentially with Arabic numbers. The title should appear below the figure and should be brief but sufficiently detailed for the figure to stand on its own. Notes below the figure can be used to present additional information. For multipart figures, each part should be labeled (a), (b), (c),⋯, sequentially, and each part should be described in the caption. Figures should not have more than four sub-figures, and they cannot be inserted as images. For review (submission), figures may be submitted in EPS, TIFF, and PDF formats (JPG and GIF formats are acceptable). However, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, editable figures must be provided. Photographs should be in tagged image format (TIF), with 500 dpi. Be sure that the overall style in the figures is standardized. For example, if Mg ha-1 is used in the text, Mg/ha should not be used in the figures. Minor revisions in the figures may be requested after manuscript acceptance. If the author does not provide figures with adequate graphic quality and vectorization of the images is required, an extra fee will be charged.
Formulae and equations: They should be inserted as editable text and not as images. Formulae and equations should be created using the equation editor available in text editing software such as MS Word or any other tool which allows editing. Equations should be cited within the text as “equation 1”, using a lowercase letter; or highlighted in parenthesis (Equation 1). Equations should be numbered consecutively as Eq.1, Eq. 2, Eq. 3, etc. at the right-hand side.
Data repository: It is desirable that, up to the time of publication of the article, the data, methods, program codes, images, videos, or other materials supporting the article be available through open access. As part of good practices, the data should be deposited in a single repository. In selecting the data repository, check for its reliability, reputation, accessibility, and visibility, and if it is affiliated with recognized institutions. Check if it is aligned with the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles. RBCS accepts articles with their data deposited in the SciELO database or in other servers established for the purpose of deposit of research data related to soil science. Options for repositories directed to soil science can be accessed through the link: https://www.re3data.org. |
REVIEW PROCESS
This journal uses a double-blind review, which means the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa. However, authors that choose to place their manuscripts in Preprint servers will be under the modality of single-blind review, in which only the identity of the authors is revealed.
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AFTER ACCEPTANCE
After acceptance, the process will be conducted by e-mail (autores@sbcs.org.br). Procedures: If necessary, the corresponding author will be requested to apply the reference style adopted by the journal and to edit/format figures and tables. When necessary, to ensure correct spelling and formal style, the editor may request a text revision by one of the specialists indicated in these guidelines. Graphical abstract: A graphical abstract is desirable. The corresponding author should send a graph, image, or schematic model that summarizes the main findings or relevant information of the manuscript. The graphical abstract should be submitted in a separate editable file (saved directly from the original artwork or plotting device) to allow reformatting of the original editable figure. The graphical abstract will only be displayed in the online manuscript on the website of the Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo. After publication, the authors whose manuscripts are in Preprint should communicate to the server that the study was published and indicate its DOI. |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
General guidelines for refinement of the manuscript are presented below. Some of these items will not be required in the peer-review phase, but may be required after acceptance of the manuscript. RBCS uses the International System of Units (SI). Some examples of how data should be presented are shown below:
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Contact
Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo / Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo Secretaria Executiva, Caixa Postal 231, CEP: 36570-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil Tel.: (+55 31) 3612-4543 / 3612-4542 E-mail: autores@ sbcs.org.br / sbcs@ sbcs.org.br |
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