Update: Last updated on 30/04/2024.

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 ScholarOne^TM. 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.

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 ScholarOne^TM, an online submission and paper management system, which can be accessed using the following links:

www.rbcs.org.br

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. 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.

After concluding the corrections required by editors and reviewers, the author should submit a revision. To do so, 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.

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.

PUBLICATION FEES

For Brazilian manuscripts in which the first author or the 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.

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: