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How to make landscape ecological publications
In 2005 the IALE Executive Committee agreed to set up a series of publications to promote Landscape Ecology and to encourage members to publish as widely as possible. The six tiers of publications are approximately ordered according to the degree of editorial control. This document is seen as a live entity and the Executive Committee is open to suggestions and modifications. Although this text is independent of the World Congress, the Scientific Committee will use this structure to discuss the publication policy for the World Congress.
The bulletin has a long track record and established policy for inclusion of items. The bulletin editor is Felix Kienast (felix.kienast@wsl.ch) and he decides the publication policy. Short communications, reports on meetings, interviews, and opinions of members can be published in the bulletin. Publication of such articles are free for IALE members.
IALE Landscape Research and Management papers
The IALE Landscape Research and Management papers are designed to be a digital journal for documents on landscape ecology and its applications. It will be published as pdf-format. This medium is therefore especially designed for the presentation of early results in order to encourage feedback to the authors. The papers must be readily comprehensible, but editorial standards do not have to be as high as for other forms of publication. The language is English, but papers in other languages are also welcome, under condition that a paper with a full English translation is provided as well. The maximum length of the papers is 20 pages.
The papers or other documents can be summaries of PhD theses, MSc/MA dissertations, new theoretical discussion papers, papers with an application (planning or management) objective, papers with a regional focus, but interesting for a wider audience and congress papers. The standards need not be as high as in peer reviewed journals and edited books.
Papers or documents can be improved following reactions from readers. The modified document will then replace the previous version. All papers will be reviewed by a member of the editorial board appointed by the Coordinating Editor. The papers should be sent to the Coordinating Editor or his appointed representative, who will give feedback to the authors. It is not expected that the editors will give a detailed review as for refereed journals, but the document should be suitable for publication on the web and my in some cases be less formal than a paper. It is the responsibility of authors therefore to ensure that the documents are of a good standard.
Coordinating Editor:
Bob Bunce (IALE
Executive Committee)
Editorial
Committee
Emilio Padoa Schioppa (IALE-Italy)
Rob Jongman (IALE Executive Committee)
David Howard (IALE-UK)
Kalev Sepp (IALE-Estonia)
Nobukazu Nakagoshi (IALE-Japan)
Louis Iverson (US-IALE)
Sandra Luque (IALE-France)
The Coordinating Editor will report to the Executive Committee annually, and the editorial board and policy will be reviewed at the same time.
The instructions for authors are published at the website of IALE under the heading Publications. The cost to authors is nothing, provided they have IALE membership.
The IALE Publication Series will consist of printed books presenting reports of important activities within IALE. They will follow the pattern of the successful IALE-UK series which already has published ten books. It is important to maintain a common formal editorial layout as given in the web site above. Two books have been published so far in the IALE series: Transhumance and Biodiversity in European Mountains and Landscape Ecology and Management of Atlantic Mountains. Details of both are on the IALE website. It is recognized that chapters in these books may be subsequently converted into papers for refereed journals. Such progression has been successful and is an integral part of the publishing process.
Invitations are encouraged for additions to the series. Proposals should be about one page, including the title, proposed number of pages, clear objectives and an explanation of why the topic is appropriate and significant to IALE. The editors should be clearly stated together with who is the final responsible person. Cost estimates and likely sales should also be part of the proposal. For example, a book on Land Abandonment might include chapters on:
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How land abandonment affects landscape function
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The landscape ecological implications of land abandonment
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The link between land abandonment and social structure
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The destruction of the complex structure of cultural landscape
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Regional perspectives, e.g. from France, Spain or Mongolia
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An estimation of the number of copies to be printed, an estimation of the costs, sale price and the expected sales.
Books will be selected on the basis of their scientific content, the presentation of new themes and the balance in contributors linked to the theme. This means that for instance a contribution focussing on Asian issues does not have to include participants from other parts of the world, but their inclusion will surely will make the theme more attractive for a world audience.
All proposals should be sent to the Secretary General who will circulate them to the Executive Committee for their comments and final decision. The Executive Committee will inform the proposers as soon as possible on its decision and any financial considerations that are involved. It is possible that IALE may loan some funds for initial costs of publishing the book, with the understanding that these funds would be replenished from book sales.
Individual commercially published books
There is a Landscape Ecology Book Series within Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Series in Landscape Ecology, Editor-in-Chief John Wiens). Members are encouraged to send in proposals for books to Cambridge University Press.
In addition to this existing book series, it is also suggested that individual Landscape Ecology Books can also be proposed for support of IALE covering specific topics. In these cases the Executive Committee will appoint an editor-in-chief who will be asked to prepare an outline of the book, the potential audience, the financial implications and any costs involved. The Executive Committee will then make a final decision on the publication and the IALE contribution.
Special Issues of refereed journals
Any member of IALE is entitled to negotiate with appropriate journals for special issues covering individual topics. However, recent experiences have shown that there can be long delays and problems with such issues.
Refereed journals
Contributions to refereed journals are an integral part of the work of IALE and many members will of course make decisions on publications independently. This section is therefore only included for completeness and has not implications for IALE policy. The official IALE journal is Landscape Ecology. Members can receive the journal for a reduced fee (US$ 80, students US$ 60).
Recently the Executive Committee has agreed to be associated with the electronic journal “Living reviews in Landscape Research” (link only available with login). IALE – represented through Marion Potschin – is the IALE representative on the Editorial Board. The journal is still in preparation. For further information contact the Secretary General.
IALE has also agreed to be associated with the journal “Landscape and Ecological Engineering” published by Springer). The Executive Committee will consider any future proposals from journals for a similar associated status on a case by case basis.
Update 01 Feb 2006