Author Guidelines

Terra Alimentaria is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of professional ethics, accuracy, and quality in all matters related to handling manuscripts and reporting scientific information. 

1. Aim & Scope

Terra Alimentaria offers scientists an international forum to publish research at the forefront of agricultural and food sciences. The journal publishes peer-reviewed articles covering all aspects from farm to fork. For full details, please see our Aims and Scope.

The core areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Agronomy, crop science, and sustainable farming systems
  • Soil health, plant nutrition, and agricultural engineering
  • Food chemistry and biochemistry
  • Food microbiology and safety
  • Food processing, engineering, and packaging
  • Sensory science and consumer behavior
  • Food quality assurance and control
  • Functional foods, nutrition, and health
  • Sustainable agrifood systems and waste valorization

2. Open Access, Publication Frequency & Author Fees

Open Access Policy

Terra Alimentaria provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Read our full Open Access Policy.

Publication Frequency

The journal publishes continuously, with articles compiled into issues biannually. Accepted articles are published online as soon as they are ready, ensuring rapid dissemination of research findings. View our Publication Frequency details.

Author Fees

For complete details regarding our current APCs, payment processes, and our waiver policy for authors experiencing financial hardship or from low-income countries, please see our dedicated Author Fees page.

3. Types of Manuscripts

To foster a comprehensive dialogue within the agricultural and food science community, Terra Alimentaria welcomes the following types of submissions. Authors must clearly indicate the intended manuscript type upon submission in the OJS platform.

3.1. Original Research Articles

Detailed studies presenting primary, novel findings that significantly advance the field from farm to fork. The research must be scientifically robust, methodologically sound, and provide new insights.

3.2. Review Articles

Authoritative and critical overviews of current topics, synthesizing existing literature to provide new insights. We do not accept mere summaries of literature; reviews must identify research gaps and propose future directions. Systematic reviews must adhere to PRISMA guidelines.

3.3. Perspectives and Commentary

Forward-looking pieces that discuss emerging trends, policy implications, or future directions in agriculture and food technology. All claims must be evidence-based and supported by peer-reviewed literature.

4. Ethics and Policies

4.1. Ethics in publishing

We are committed to ensuring ethics in publication and quality of articles. Plagiarism, data fabrication, and image manipulation are strictly prohibited. Please read our complete Ethics in publishing guidelines.

4.2. Submission declaration

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors must verify originality; the editorial team utilizes Turnitin/iThenticate similarity detection.

4.3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship requires meeting ICMJE criteria. All authors' CRediT contributions must be added during OJS submission. Ghost, guest, or honorary authorship is prohibited. Please see our full Authorship and Contributorship Policy. Changes to authorship (addition, deletion, or rearrangement) must be requested before manuscript acceptance and require the Editor's approval along with written consent from all original authors.

4.4. Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Authors should ensure their work uses inclusive language throughout and contains nothing which might imply one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition. We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors about personal attributes unless they are relevant and valid. Write for gender neutrality with the use of plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default. Wherever possible, avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." No assumptions should be made about the beliefs of readers and writing should be free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help you identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

4.5. Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses

There is no single, universally agreed-upon set of guidelines for defining sex and gender. We offer the following guidance:

  • Sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) should be integrated into research design when research involves or pertains to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells. This should be done in accordance with any requirements set by funders or sponsors and best practices within a field.
  • Sex and/or gender dimensions of the research should be addressed within the article or declared as a limitation to the generalizability of the research.
  • Definitions of sex and/or gender applied should be explicitly stated to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility of the research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they refer.

We advise you to read the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER checklist, which offer systematic approaches to the use of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting and research interpretation.

4.6. Definitions of sex and/or gender

We ask authors to define how sex and gender have been used in their research and publication. Some guidance:

  • Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features such as chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy. A binary sex categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth") and is in most cases based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. In reality, sex categorizations include people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD).
  • Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society.

Depending on the focus of a paper, sex and/or gender may or may not be relevant to the content of the paper. We recognize that beliefs, attitudes, and laws relating to sex and gender may vary. These articles do not attempt to dictate author beliefs but rather require that, where relevant to an author’s research or paper, the author must provide clear explanations of how the paper and research define and use sex and gender.

4.7. Image manipulation

We accept that authors sometimes need to adjust images for clarity but any manipulation of images for the purpose of deception or fraud will be seen as scientific ethical abuse and will be dealt with accordingly. Authors must adhere to this journal’s policy for graphical images:

  • No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed or introduced.
  • Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if, and only as long as, they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original image.
  • Nonlinear adjustments such as changes to gamma settings must be disclosed in the figure legend.
  • Use of AI tools to create or manipulate primary research images is not permitted. This includes images that represent experimental or observational data, such as western blots, microscopy images, histology images, or patient images. Please read our Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.

To verify compliance with the above, this journal may send your images to a secure third-party tool to enable screening for image irregularities. Our editors may ask you to provide original data or images if any questions arise as a result of the screening. The final decision as to whether images are acceptable will be taken by our editors. Authors are encouraged to carefully check all images before submission and to connect all the data in any figures to the original, unprocessed data.

4.8. Jurisdictional claims

Terra Alimentaria respects the decisions taken by its authors as to how they choose to designate territories and identify their affiliations in their published content. Our policy is to take a neutral position with respect to territorial disputes or jurisdictional claims, including, but not limited to, maps and institutional affiliations.

  • Maps: Readers should be able to locate any study areas shown within maps using common mapping platforms. Maps should only show the area actually studied and authors should not include a location map which displays a larger area than the bounding box of the study area. Authors should add a note clearly stating that "map lines delineate study areas and do not necessarily depict accepted national boundaries”. During the review process, editors may request authors to change maps if these guidelines are not followed.
  • Institutional affiliations: Authors should use either the full, standard title of their institution or the standard abbreviation of the institutional name so that the institutional name can be independently verified for research integrity purposes.

4.9. Studies in humans

Authors must follow ethical guidelines for research involving humans, their data, and/or their biological materials (e.g. organs, tissues). Authors should ensure that they adhere to the following:

  • All studies must be performed in compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has/have approved them. For instance, medical research involving humans should be carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and should follow the ICMJE recommendations.
  • Informed consent must be obtained for research with human participants, including their data or biological materials. Consent must be given without coercion, and the privacy rights of human participants must always be observed.
  • Authors should be aware that written (or electronic) consent is required for certain studies under national laws. In studies where only verbal informed consent was obtained, authors should include justification for the absence of written consent, the name of the approving ethics committee, and a statement on how verbal consent was recorded.
  • Consent for publication should also be obtained. Authors must obtain and retain explicit written consent for any identifiable participant materials. All participant information must be de-identified: do not include names or personal identifiers (e.g., initials, ID numbers, DOB).
  • Images should be used only when scientifically necessary and with explicit consent, and nonessential identifying details must be removed. Fully anonymized images that contain no identifying marks and are not accompanied by identifying text do not require formal consent, though informing the patient is good practice. Simply obscuring identity (e.g., eye bars or blurring) is not sufficient without consent.
  • Written consents must be retained by the authors. They should not be provided to this journal unless this is specifically requested in exceptional circumstances.
  • Appropriate consents and safeguards should be in place for research with vulnerable populations.
  • All studies involving human participants require a statement that details any ethical approval(s), guidelines followed, confirmation of informed consent, and any other necessary information. The statement should contain the date and reference number of any ethical approval(s) obtained.
  • If ethical approval is not required by national laws or where a study has been granted an exemption from an ethics committee, the statement must explain why the study is exempt and confirm that the appropriate protocols for protecting the rights and privacy of all participants were utilized.

4.10. Human biological material

For all studies that use human organs or tissues, sufficient evidence must be provided that these were procured in line with WHO Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation. The source of the organs or tissues used in clinical research must be transparent and traceable and must not be sourced from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience. For clinical studies, a statement of informed consent having been obtained from a patient or their legal representative, paired with ethical approval for the study from a suitable institution, may be considered sufficient evidence, but the journal reserves the right to request additional evidence. If the manuscript describes organ transplantation authors must additionally declare within the manuscript that autonomous consent, free from coercion, was obtained from the donor(s) or their next of kin, and organs and/or tissues were not sourced from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience.

4.11. Studies in animals

All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines (or national equivalent) and should be carried out in accordance with relevant laws and associated guidelines for animal welfare. Authors must ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that confirms which guidelines have been followed. This statement should include the ethics committee approval number, when available. If a study was granted exemption or did not require ethics approval, a statement detailing this should be included in the manuscript. The sex of animals, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study should be indicated. Where applicable, researchers are encouraged to document informed consent from the client or owner in studies involving client-owned animals and adhere to best practices of veterinary care. For research on threatened and/or endangered species, authors are advised to consult international best practice guidelines (e.g., IUCN).

4.12. Delayed publication

If you need to delay the publication of your article for any reason, please contact the editorial office of the journal at the earliest possible opportunity. While we will try to ensure that your article is not published before a certain date if you make your request on a timely basis, we cannot guarantee this. Please also note that once the agreed period of delay has expired the article may be published at any time thereafter.

4.13. Withdrawal, correction, or retraction

For questions about article withdrawal, correction, or retraction, please consult our editorial policies regarding article correction, retraction, and removal.

5. The Peer Review Process

Terra Alimentaria is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. All research and review articles submitted to the journal undergo a rigorous Single-Blind Peer Review process by independent, expert referees to ensure the validity, relevance, and scientific rigor of the work.

In a single-blind review model, the reviewers know the identities of the authors, but the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript. Because of this, you do not need to anonymize your main document or strip identifying information prior to submission. Please see our Peer Review Process page for full details.

6. Writing and Formatting

6.1. File format

We ask you to provide editable source files for your entire submission (including figures, tables and text graphics). Some guidelines:

  • Save files in an editable format, using the extension .doc/.docx for Word files and .tex for LaTeX files. A PDF is not an acceptable source file.
  • Format Word files in a single-column layout. Double-column formatting is only permitted for LaTeX submissions.
  • Remove any strikethrough and underlined text from your manuscript, unless it has scientific significance related to your article.
  • Use spell-check and grammar-check functions to avoid errors.
  • Manuscripts should include continuous line numbering and page numbers throughout the document.

6.2. Title page

You are required to include the following details on the title page:

  • Article title. Article titles should be concise and informative. Please avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible, unless they are established and widely understood, e.g. DNA.
  • Author names. Provide the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author. The order of authors should match the order in the submission system. Carefully check that all names are accurately spelled. You may add your name between parentheses in your own script after the English transliteration.
  • Affiliations. Referring to where the work was carried out, below the author names. Indicate affiliations using a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the corresponding address. Ensure that you provide the full name and postal address of each affiliation, including the country name.
  • Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence for your article at all stages of the refereeing and publication process and also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about your results, data, or methodology. The email address of the corresponding author must be included on the title page and will be published in the article.
  • Present/permanent address. If an author has changed affiliation since the work described in your article was carried out, or was visiting during that time, a "present address" (or "permanent address") can be indicated by a footnote to the author's name. The address where the author carried out the work must be retained as their main affiliation address. Use superscript Arabic numerals for such footnotes.

6.3. Abstract

You are required to provide a concise and factual abstract which does not exceed 250 words. The abstract should briefly state the purpose of your research, principal results and major conclusions. Some guidelines:

  • Abstracts must be able to stand alone as abstracts are often presented separately from the article.
  • Avoid references. If any are essential to include, ensure that you cite the author(s) and year(s).
  • Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. If any are essential to include, ensure they are defined within your abstract at first mention.

6.4. Keywords

You are required to provide 1 to 7 keywords for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Please try to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using "and" or "of"). We recommend that you only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field.

6.5. Highlights

You are required to provide article highlights at submission. Highlights are a short collection of bullet points that should capture the novel results of your research as well as any new methods used during your study. Highlights will help increase the discoverability of your article via search engines. Some guidelines:

  • Submit highlights as a separate editable file in the online submission system with the word "highlights" included in the file name.
  • Highlights should consist of 3 to 5 bullet points, each a maximum of 85 characters, including spaces.

6.6. Units, classifications codes and nomenclature

This journal requires you to use the international system of units (SI) which follows internationally accepted rules and conventions. If other units are mentioned within your article, you should provide the equivalent unit in SI.

6.7. Math formulae

  • Submit math equations as editable text, not as images.
  • Present simple formulae in line with normal text, where possible.
  • Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms such as X/Y.
  • Present variables in italics.
  • Denote powers of e by exp.
  • Display equations separately from your text, numbering them consecutively in the order they are referred to within your text.

6.8. Tables

Tables must be submitted as editable text, not as images. Some guidelines:

  • Place tables next to the relevant text or on a separate page(s) at the end of your article.
  • Cite all tables in the manuscript text.
  • Number tables consecutively according to their appearance in the text.
  • Please provide captions along with the tables.
  • Place any table notes below the table body.
  • Avoid vertical rules and shading within table cells.
  • We recommend that you use tables sparingly, ensuring that any data presented in tables is not duplicating results described elsewhere in the article.

6.9. Figures, images and artwork

Figures, images, diagrams and other graphical media (artwork) must be supplied as separate files along with the manuscript. When submitting artwork:

  • Cite all images in the manuscript text.
  • Number images according to the order they appear within your article.
  • Submit each image as a separate file using a logical naming convention for your files (for example, Figure_1, Figure_2 etc).
  • Text graphics may be embedded in the text at the appropriate position. If you are working with LaTeX, text graphics may also be embedded in the file.

Captions: All artwork must have a caption. A caption should consist of a brief title (not displayed on the figure itself) and a description of the image. Keep the amount of text to a minimum, though any symbol or abbreviation should be explained.

Formats: Submit your artwork in the formats listed below:

Image type Recommended file type Requirements
Vector drawings EPS, PDF Embed the font or save text as graphics
Photographs (color or grayscale) TIFF, JPG, PNG Minimum resolution 300 dpi
Bitmapped line drawings TIFF, JPG, PNG Minimum resolution 1000 dpi
Charts and large or shaded tables XLS, XLSX Supply in a clearly readable format
Annotated images PPT, PPTX Annotations and text must be legible; Min. resolution 300 dpi

Do not submit files that are too low in resolution, artwork where text is disproportionately small, or multiple images/graphs combined into one file (unless they share a direct relationship, such as before/after photos).

Color artwork: If you submit usable color figures, they will appear in color online. Please ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision.

Generative AI and figures: Please read our Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy regarding images and artwork. AI tools may be used to support explanatory images (flow charts) or data visualizations (plots derived from underlying data using reproducible methods). AI tools must not be used to create or alter images that represent primary observed or experimental data (western blots, microscopy, etc.).

6.10. Supplementary material

We encourage the use of supplementary materials such as applications, images and sound clips to enhance research. Supplementary material should be accurate and relevant to the research. Cite all supplementary files in the manuscript text and submit all materials at the same time as your manuscript. Include a concise, descriptive caption for each file. Be aware that all supplementary materials provided will appear online in the exact same way as received and will not be checked or formatted by the production team.

6.11. Video

This journal accepts video material and animation sequences to support and enhance your scientific research. When including video or animation file links within your article, refer to the video or animation content by adding a note in your text where the file should be placed. Provide files in recommended formats with a preferred maximum file size of 150 MB per file, 1 GB in total. Provide "stills" for each of your files and descriptive text in your manuscript to refer to the video content.

6.12. Research data

Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings, which may also include software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project. You are required to:

  • Deposit your research data in a relevant data repository.
  • Cite and link to this dataset in your article.
  • If this is not possible, make a statement explaining why research data cannot be shared.

Data statement: To foster transparency, you are required to state the availability of any data at submission. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post (e.g., sensitive or confidential information), you can state the reason why during the submission process.

Data linking: If your research data has been made available in a data repository, provide a link to your dataset when prompted during the online submission process. You can also link relevant data or entities within the text of your article through the use of identifiers (e.g. Database: 12345).

6.13. Co-submission of related data, methods or protocols

You are encouraged to publish a description of your research data, methods, or protocols related to your regular article as a co-submission article in relevant data journals (e.g., Data in Brief or MethodsX). This co-submission can be submitted at the same time as your regular manuscript via the OJS portal.

6.14. Article structure

  • Article sections: Divide your manuscript into clearly defined and numbered sections. Number subsections 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), then 1.2, etc. Use the numbering format when cross-referencing within your article. You may give subsections a brief heading on a separate line. Do not include the article abstract within section numbering.
  • Theory and calculation: The theory section should lay the foundation for further work by extending the background. The calculation section should represent a practical development from a theoretical basis.
  • Footnotes: We advise you to use footnotes sparingly. If you include footnotes in your article, ensure that they are numbered consecutively.
  • Acknowledgements: Include any individuals who provided you with help during your research, such as help with language, writing or proof reading. Acknowledgements should be placed in a separate section which appears directly before the reference list. Do not include acknowledgements on your title page or as a footnote to your title.
  • Appendices: Identify individual appendices using the format: A, B, etc. Give separate numbering to formulae and equations within appendices using formats such as Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc., and for tables and figures such as Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

7. Declarations (Mandatory)

All manuscripts must include the following sections to provide transparency.

Declaration of generative AI use

Nonhuman technologies (AI/LLMs) cannot qualify as authors. AI use for language editing or drafting must be explicitly disclosed here. See our Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy. Example: "During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used Trinka AI solely to improve readability and language clarity. The author(s) take full responsibility for the accuracy and originality of the final publication."

Authorship & CRediT

Corresponding authors are required to acknowledge co-author contributions using CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) roles:

  • Conceptualization
  • Data curation
  • Formal analysis
  • Funding acquisition
  • Investigation
  • Methodology
  • Project administration
  • Resources
  • Software
  • Supervision
  • Validation
  • Visualization
  • Writing – original draft
  • Writing – review and editing

Not all CRediT roles will apply to every manuscript and some authors may contribute through multiple roles.

Declaration of competing interests

Disclose any financial or professional affiliations (within 3 years) that might be perceived as a conflict of interest. Example: "The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."

Funding sources

Identify all financial support. Example: "This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia under Grant [number]."

Data Availability

State where supporting data can be found. Example: "The data presented in this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author."

8. References

8.1. References within text

Any references cited in your article should also be present in your reference list and vice versa. Some guidelines:

  • References cited in your abstract must be given in full.
  • Make sure all data provided in your reference list are correct and complete.
  • Every reference included must correspond to a real, existing source.
  • Where available include Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), as they provide a permanent link to the electronic article referenced and improve the discoverability of your research.
  • We recommend not including unpublished results and personal communications in your reference list, though you may mention them in the text. If included, they must follow the standard reference style substituting the publication date with “unpublished results” or “personal communication”.
  • References cited as “in press” imply that the item has been accepted for publication.

8.2. Reference style (APA 7th Edition)

Citations in the text should follow the referencing style used by the American Psychological Association. You are referred to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020) ISBN 978-1-4338-3215-4. The reference list should be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication.

Examples:

  • Journal publication: Van der Geer, J., Handgraaf T., & Lupton, R. A. (2020). The art of writing a scientific article. Journal of Scientific Communications, 163, 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sc.2020.00372.
  • Journal publication with an article number: Van der Geer, J., Handgraaf, T., & Lupton, R. A. (2022). The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon, 19, Article e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e00205.
  • Book: Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). Longman (Chapter 4).
  • Chapter in a book: Mettam, G. R., & Adams, L. B. (2020). How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In B. S. Jones, & R. Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the electronic age (pp. 281–304). E-Publishing Inc.
  • Website: Powertech Systems. (2022). Lithium-ion vs lead-acid cost analysis. Retrieved from http://www.powertechsystems.eu/home/tech-corner/lithium-ion-vs-lead-acid-cost-analysis/. Accessed January 6, 2022.
  • Dataset: Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., & Nakashizuka, T. (2015). Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions [dataset]. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1.
  • Conference paper or poster: Engle, E.K., Cash, T.F., & Jarry, J.L. (2019, November). The Body Image Behaviours Inventory-3: Development and validation of the Body Image Compulsive Actions and Body Image Avoidance Scales. Poster session presentation at the meeting of the Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, New York, NY.
  • Software: Coon, E., Berndt, M., Jan, A., Svyatsky, D., Atchley, A., Kikinzon, E., Harp, D., Manzini, G., Shelef, E., Lipnikov, K., Garimella, R., Xu, C., Moulton, D., Karra, S., Painter, S., Jafarov, E., & Molins, S. (2020). Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) (Version 0.88) [Computer software]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3727209.

8.3. Web references

When listing web references, as a minimum you should provide the full URL and the date when the reference was last accessed. Additional information (e.g. DOI, author names, dates or reference to a source publication) should also be provided, if known.

8.4. Data references

We encourage you to cite underlying or relevant datasets within article text and to list data references in the reference list. When citing data references, you should include: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before your reference. This will help us to properly identify the dataset. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.

8.5. Preprint references

We ask you to mark preprints clearly. You should include the word "preprint" or the name of the preprint server as part of your reference and provide the preprint DOI. Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, use the formal publication as your reference.

8.6. Reference management software

Most journals have their reference template available in popular reference management software products. These include products that support Citation Style Language (CSL) such as Mendeley Reference Manager. If you use a citation plug-in from these products, select the relevant journal template and all your citations and bibliographies will automatically be formatted in the journal style. We advise you to remove all field codes before submitting your manuscript to any reference management software product.

9. Submitting your manuscript

9.1. Submission checklist

Before completing the submission of your manuscript, we advise you to read our submission checklist:

  • One author has been designated as the corresponding author and their full contact details have been provided. These must be kept up to date during the submission and publication process.
  • All files have been uploaded, including artwork, videos, and supplementary materials. Don’t forget to include tables and footnotes in the files, and to submit captions.
  • Spelling and grammar checks have been carried out.
  • All references in the article text are cited in the reference list, and vice versa.
  • Permission has been obtained for the use of any copyrighted material from other sources, including the Web.
  • For open access articles, all authors understand that they are responsible for payment of the article publishing charge (APC) if the manuscript is accepted.

9.2. Submit online

Our online submission system guides you through the process steps of entering your manuscript details and uploading your files. The system or an editor converts your article files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by email via the Terra Alimentaria OJS portal.

10. After receiving a final decision

10.1. Article Transfer Service

If your manuscript is more suitable for an alternative journal, you may receive an email asking you to consider transferring your manuscript via our Article Transfer Service. If you agree with the recommendation, your manuscript will be transferred and independently reviewed by the editors of the new journal.

10.2. Publishing agreement

Authors will be asked to complete a publishing agreement after acceptance. The corresponding author will receive a link to the online agreement by email. We advise you to read our policies related to copyright to learn more about our copyright policies and your, and your employer’s/institution’s, additional rights for open access articles.

10.3. License options

Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.

10.4. Permission for copyrighted works

If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included in your article, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) within your article.

10.5. Responsible sharing

We encourage you to share and promote your article to give additional visibility to your work, enabling your paper to contribute to scientific progress and foster the exchange of scientific developments within your field.

11. Resources for authors

We recommend that you write in American or British English but not a combination of both. If you feel the English language in your manuscript requires editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English, you may wish to use professional English Language Editing services prior to submission.