Guidelines for Authors

General Policies The International Oak Society will accept articles for International Oaks from members or non-members as long as the material presented is pertinent to the genus Quercus. Written contributions may be scientific/technical papers, historical, horticultural, instructional or general interest material (stories/articles of a particular tree, event, place, person, etc.) or letters to the Editor; a mix of categories is accepted and encouraged. Material may be previously published or unpublished. The author's name, title, postal address, and e-mail (if available) should be provided. An abstract of between 150 and 200 words must accompany the article; with a maximum of 8 key words. A bibliography is required using the author/date citations standard. For papers that are not strictly speaking “research” papers, references for further reading would be highly appreciated.

Copyright Copyright of International Oaks and to articles in their final form as they appear in the publication belong to the International Oak Society. Copyrights to texts, photographs, illustrations, figures, etc. belong to individual authors and photographers. Anyone wishing to use portions of International Oaks for other publications should secure permission from the International Oak Society, the author, photographer or artist, and must include a credit line indicating International Oaks as the source of the material. All contributors submitting work thereby release their contribution for publication under the terms stated herein. Authors take full and sole responsibility for securing releases for use of material obtained from other sources, and agree to indemnify the International Oak Society against any claim of plagiarism involving their contribution. All contributors, by submitting material, unconditionally release their work for non-exclusive print and/or web publication, subsequent republication, or other non-commercial use by the International Oak Society.

Internet Access Articles published in International Oaks may be published freely on the internet by their author six months after they are published in the Journal; or immediately if publication is on a "closed website" (i.e., website with access limited to members).

Format Papers should be submitted as Microsoft Word or Word-compatible electronic documents with no special formatting or layout except for paragraph breaks and subtitles. Text may be submitted via e-mail or other electronic file transfer services available on the Internet. Photographs and illustrations must be submitted as separate files.

Photographs, illustrations, tables, and charts Images may be submitted electronically through any of the various Internet services that allow for the transfer of large files in high-resolution JPEG (preferably original camera file size), TIFF or PNG formats. Images that are not of sufficient size needed for quality offset printing at 300 dpi (minimum 4 megapixels) may be rejected and the Editor may propose alternative images to the author. Please be aware that most smart phones, tablets, etc., are not set to photograph at sufficiently high resolution for offset printing. If you are using such a device for photography, please ensure that the proper settings have been selected, if available, to ensure high-resolution images. GIF files downloaded from Internet sources and PowerPoint images will be rejected as these do not provide sufficient quality for print reproduction. Images downloaded from the Internet that are technically acceptable must be free of copyright. Include full but concise captions and credit lines, exactly as they are intended to appear in publication.

Nomenclature Although vernacular names can be provided, they follow, in parentheses, the scientific name for each taxon. The vernacular name should generally only be used the first time, and thereafter, taxa should be referred to by their scientific name. Author names are not necessary, but may be provided when needed, for example, when helpful for historical or taxonomical reasons. In hybrid names, the multiplication sign (×) is inserted with no space between the symbol and the initial letter of the epithet. A space is used on both sides of the symbol in cases of formula names. Inclusion of synonyms, formula names, and trade names in parentheses is encouraged where confusion may result from their omission. Cultivar names are capitalized and placed in single quotes and are not set in italics. Trade names are to be identified as such by the applicable standard symbols.

For all papers on Oak Open Days, tours, other society events, other trip reports or garden visits, the author citation will not be included in scientific names. Exceptions are allowed when helpful for historical or taxonomic reasons. It is left to authors or Editor to decide when this is the case.

Measurements The metric system is preferred, but authors may choose the system they are most comfortable with.

Review The Editorial Committee and Editors reserve the right to edit all contributions in line with the International Oak Society Manual of Style for grammar, correct English translation, current nomenclature, generally accepted taxonomic concepts, scientific accuracy, length, relevance, and clarity. Authors will have the opportunity to approve any editorial modifications.

Submissions Please send your papers and any related material before 1 December of the year prior to publication to the Editor at pouyouleix.arboretum@gmail.com. For any questions, please contact:

Béatrice Chassé
Editor, International Oaks
pouyouleix.arboretum@gmail.com

modified 29 May 2023