Advancements in Ethnobotanical Sciences
Short Guidelines
- Manuscripts must be original, clearly written, and relevant to the scope of Advancements in Ethnobotanical Sciences (AES).
- Original Research Articles should normally contain: Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Declarations, and References.
- Abstracts should generally be concise and structured as Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion for original research.
- Authors should provide 4–8 keywords that accurately reflect the subject of the manuscript.
- Field studies should report study location, participant selection, data-collection methods, botanical identification, voucher specimens where applicable, and relevant ethical procedures.
- Studies involving traditional or Indigenous knowledge should address Prior Informed Consent (PIC), community rights, confidentiality, and Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) where applicable.
- Quantitative ethnobotanical studies must clearly define the indices, formulas, statistical procedures, and references used.
- Funding, ethical approval, informed consent, competing interests, author contributions, data availability, and AI use should be declared where applicable.
- References should follow the Vancouver style and be cited consecutively in the text.
- Tables and figures should be limited to those necessary for presenting the findings. Additional material may be submitted as supplementary information.
General Information
Advancements in Ethnobotanical Sciences (AES) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal devoted to research on plant–people relationships and ethnobotanical sciences.
The journal welcomes interdisciplinary research addressing traditional knowledge, Indigenous and local knowledge, medicinal and food plants, ethnopharmacology, ethnobotanical ecology, biodiversity, conservation, agriculture, ethnonutrition, cultural practices, quantitative ethnobotany, GIS and spatial approaches, molecular and digital ethnobotany, sustainable use of plant resources, and related areas.
Manuscripts should demonstrate a clear ethnobotanical contribution rather than merely report the biological or pharmacological properties of a plant.
Article Types
AES considers the following contributions:
- Original Research Articles
- Review Articles
- Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
- Scoping Reviews
- Mini-Reviews
- Short Communications
- Methodological Articles
- Perspectives
- Commentaries
- Field Notes and Ethnobotanical Reports
- Data Papers
The editorial office may determine the most appropriate article category during evaluation.
Submission Requirements
Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's online submission system.
Submission confirms that:
- the manuscript is original;
- it is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere;
- all authors have approved the submitted version;
- appropriate ethical and legal requirements have been addressed; and
- funding and competing interests have been disclosed.
A cover letter should briefly state the importance, originality, and relevance of the manuscript to AES.
Manuscript Preparation
Manuscripts should be prepared in clear, concise scientific English using either British or American English consistently.
The main document should be anonymised when double-blind review is applied.
Title Page
The title page should include:
- full manuscript title;
- authors' full names;
- institutional affiliations;
- ORCID iDs, where available;
- corresponding author's name, address, and email; and
- a concise running title, where required.
Abstract
The abstract should normally not exceed 250 words for original research and should briefly present the study rationale, methods, principal findings, and conclusion.
References and unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided.
Keywords
Provide 4–8 specific and searchable keywords immediately after the abstract.
Introduction
The Introduction should establish the scientific and ethnobotanical context, identify the knowledge gap, and clearly state the purpose or research question of the study.
Extensive literature review should be avoided.
Materials and Methods
Methods must contain sufficient information to allow the study to be understood and, where applicable, reproduced.
For ethnobotanical field research, authors should describe:
- study area and ecological setting;
- study period;
- participant characteristics and sampling strategy;
- interviews, observations, or participatory methods;
- data-recording procedures;
- plant collection and identification;
- voucher specimen and herbarium information;
- quantitative ethnobotanical analyses;
- statistical methods; and
- ethical approval, consent, permits, and community permissions where applicable.
For experimental studies, relevant materials, equipment, suppliers, procedures, controls, and statistical methods should be adequately reported.
Botanical Identification
Scientific plant names must be accurate and preferably based on a recognised taxonomic authority.
For field-based studies, authors should provide, where applicable:
scientific name, family, local name, plant part used, collection locality, voucher number, herbarium, and identification authority.
Voucher specimens are strongly encouraged for original ethnobotanical surveys.
Quantitative Ethnobotany
Quantitative studies should clearly define and justify all indices and analytical approaches.
Examples include:
Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Relative Importance (RI), Cultural Importance Index (CI), and related measures.
The formula, interpretation, data source, and statistical procedure should be reported sufficiently to ensure transparency and reproducibility.
Results
Results should be presented clearly and objectively.
Tables and figures should complement rather than duplicate the text. Interpretation should generally be reserved for the Discussion.
Discussion
The Discussion should explain the significance of the findings in relation to previous research and the study objectives.
Authors should distinguish clearly between documented traditional use and experimentally or clinically demonstrated efficacy and avoid unsupported therapeutic or conservation claims.
Conclusion
The Conclusion should provide a concise statement of the principal findings and their scientific, cultural, ecological, or practical implications without extending beyond the available evidence.
Ethical and Cultural Requirements
AES places particular importance on ethical ethnobotanical research.
Studies involving traditional, Indigenous, or local knowledge should respect:
- Prior Informed Consent (PIC);
- community participation and rights;
- confidentiality of sensitive knowledge;
- appropriate attribution of knowledge;
- Indigenous data sovereignty where applicable;
- Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS);
- collection and research permits; and
- applicable national and international regulations.
Sacred, restricted, or confidential knowledge should not be published without appropriate authorisation.
Declarations
The following statements should be included when applicable:
- Ethical Approval
- Informed Consent
- Community Consent
- Access and Benefit-Sharing
- Funding
- Competing Interests
- Author Contributions
- Data Availability
- AI-Assisted Tools
If a declaration does not apply, authors should state “Not applicable.”
Tables and Figures
Tables and figures must be numbered consecutively and cited in the text.
They should be clear, informative, and necessary for understanding the study. Maps, botanical photographs, ethnobotanical matrices, GIS outputs, conceptual models, and quantitative visualisations are encouraged when scientifically justified.
Authors should ensure that photographs, maps, interviews, and other visual materials comply with copyright, privacy, consent, and community-rights requirements.
Graphical Abstract
A graphical abstract may be requested for selected manuscripts.
It should provide a simple and scientifically accurate visual representation of the study and should not exaggerate or imply conclusions unsupported by the research.
References
References should follow the Vancouver referencing style.
References should be cited consecutively in the text using Arabic numerals. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references.
Journal titles should use recognised standard abbreviations where available, preferably those used by major bibliographic databases.
DOIs should be included whenever available.
Supplementary Material
Additional tables, datasets, questionnaires, interview guides, maps, photographs, analytical outputs, and other supporting files may be submitted as supplementary material.
Sensitive traditional knowledge or community-owned information should only be shared when appropriate permission has been obtained.
Artificial Intelligence
Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, interpretation, references, and integrity of their manuscripts.
Any substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in manuscript preparation should be transparently disclosed. AI tools cannot be credited as authors.
Confidential participant information and protected traditional or Indigenous knowledge should not be entered into external AI systems without appropriate authorisation.
Research Integrity
AES does not tolerate:
- plagiarism or substantial text recycling;
- fabrication or falsification of data;
- duplicate or redundant publication;
- inappropriate authorship;
- manipulated images or data;
- citation manipulation; or
- unauthorised acquisition or publication of traditional knowledge.
Manuscripts may undergo similarity and research-integrity screening before, during, or after peer review.
Submission and Editorial Assessment
All submissions are initially screened for scope, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and scientific relevance.
Manuscripts that do not meet the basic requirements of AES may be returned for correction or declined before external peer review.
Suitable manuscripts proceed to peer review according to the journal's Peer Review Policy.
Common Reasons for Rejection
Manuscripts may be declined because of:
- limited relevance to ethnobotany;
- insufficient methodological detail;
- inadequate botanical identification;
- weak or inappropriate ethnobotanical analysis;
- unsupported interpretation of traditional claims;
- inadequate ethical or community-consent procedures;
- insufficient originality or scientific contribution;
- serious research-integrity concerns; or
- poor overall scientific presentation.
Author Checklist
Before submission, authors should confirm that:
☐ The manuscript fits the scope of AES.
☐ The work is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
☐ Botanical identification is adequately documented.
☐ Voucher information is provided where appropriate.
☐ Sampling and field methods are clearly described.
☐ Quantitative methods and statistical analyses are justified.
☐ Ethical and community-consent requirements have been addressed.
☐ PIC and ABS requirements are reported where applicable.
☐ Tables and figures are correctly cited.
☐ Funding and competing interests are disclosed.
☐ Author contributions are stated.
☐ Data availability is addressed.
☐ AI use is disclosed where applicable.
☐ References follow Vancouver style.
☐ The manuscript has been carefully checked for language and originality.