Instructions for Authors – Fungal Diversity

Fungal Diversity  is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal publishing high-quality research on plants, fungi, and their interactions. Authors should carefully follow these guidelines to ensure smooth processing and timely publication.

Article Types

Fungal Diversity publishes the following types of articles:

● Original Research Articles – Full reports presenting novel research findings with clear hypotheses, methods, results, and conclusions.
● Taxonomic Monographs and Revisions – Comprehensive treatments or systematic revisions of taxa, including morphological and molecular data.
● Review and Perspective Papers – Critical overviews or expert opinions on current trends, challenges, and emerging topics.
● Brief Communications – Brief reports of significant findings that require rapid dissemination.
● Data Papers – Datasets, checklists, inventories, genome resources, or other structured data contributions that provide valuable reference material to the community.

Format, Structure, and Style

General Guidelines

●  Manuscripts should be submitted in English, with clear and concise language. Authors are encouraged to use professional editing services if necessary.

●  Use Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double-spaced, with 2.5 cm margins on all sides.

●  Figures and tables should be embedded in the manuscript and also provided as separate files in high resolution.

Manuscript Structure (for Original Research Articles)

1. Title Page – Title of the manuscript, author names, affiliations, and corresponding author contact information.

2. Abstract – 200–250 words summarizing the objectives, methods, results, and conclusions.

3. Keywords – 5–7 relevant terms for indexing and discoverability.

4. Introduction – Context, background, and objectives of the study.

5. Materials and Methods – Detailed protocols, experimental design, sampling procedures, and statistical analyses.

6. Results – Clear presentation of findings, supported by figures and tables.

7. Discussion – Interpretation of results, implications, and comparison with previous studies.

8. Conclusions – Optional concise summary of key findings.

9. Electronic Supplementary Information – Additional datasets, figures, or protocols supporting the study.

10. Author Contributions – Description of each author’s role in the research and manuscript preparation.

11. Acknowledgments – Funding, institutional support, or contributions not qualifying for authorship.

12. Conflict of Interest Statement – Declaration of any potential conflicts of interest.

13. Data Availability – Statement on where and how underlying data can be accessed.

14. References
● Citation in text: Author(s) and year (e.g., Thompson 1990). Multiple citations separated by semicolons.
● Reference list: Include only cited, published, or accepted works. Alphabetize by first author.
● Include DOIs where available.

Reference formats:

Journals article:

1. Abrego N, Furneaux B, Hardwick B, Somervuo P, Palorinne I, Aguilar-Trigueros CA, Andrew NR, Babiy UV, Bao T, Bazzano G, Bondarchuk SV, Bonebrake TC, Brennan GL, Bret-Harte Y, Bässler C et al. (2024) Airborne DNA reveals predictable spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi. Nature 631: 835–842. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07658-9

Article by DOI:

2. Slifka MK, Whitton JL (2000) Clinical implications of dysregulated cytokine production. Journal of Molecular Medicine 78, 74–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001090000086

Book:

3. South J, Blass B (2001) The future of modern genomics. Blackwell, London

Book chapter:

4. Brown B, Aaron M (2001) The politics of nature. In: Smith J (ed) The rise of modern genomics, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York, pp 230–257

Online document:

5. Cartwright J (2007) Big stars have weather too. IOP Publishing PhysicsWeb. http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/6/16/1. Accessed 26 June 2007

Dissertation:

6. Trent JW (1975) Experimental acute renal failure. Dissertation, University of California

Citation Ethics:

● Cite relevant and appropriate literature. Avoid excessive self-citation, citation manipulation, or biased geographic selection

15. Click to Download a Manuscript Template for Initial Submission (please DO NOT use for revised manuscripts).

Figures and Tables

● Figures: high-resolution (300 dpi for color, 600 dpi for black-and-white), in TIFF, JPEG, or PNG formats
● Tables: editable, not embedded as images; provide clear titles and legends.
● Captions: placed below figures and above tables.

Permissions

If you include figures that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format. Please be aware that some publishers do not grant electronic rights for free and that Springer will not be able to refund any costs that may have occurred to receive these permissions. In such cases, material from other sources should be used.

Supplementary Material

● Authors may submit additional datasets, videos, or protocols as supplementary files.

Sequences and Data Deposition

● All DNA or RNA sequences must be deposited in GenBank.
● Full alignments of datasets should be submitted to TreeBASE.
● New species or taxonomic changes must include a Fungal Names, Index Fungorum and MycoBank number.
● GenBank tables should be included as Electronic Supplementary Material, unless they occupy fewer than two printed pages.

Production and Publication
Submission
● Manuscripts should be submitted via the journal’s online submission system.
● Authors must declare funding sources, ethical approvals, and any conflicts of interest.
Permissions
● Authors must obtain permission for any previously published material (figures, tables, text) and provide evidence of permission upon submission.
Title Page
Include the following:
● Title: Concise and informative.
● Authors: Full names, affiliations (department, institution, city, state/province, country).
● Corresponding author: Clearly indicated with active email address.
● ORCID IDs: 16-digit ORCID for each author, if available.
● Unaffiliated authors: Include city and country; email only if requested.
Peer Review
● All submissions undergo single-blind peer review (reviewers know authors’ identities, authors do not know reviewers’).
● Decisions are communicated as: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.
Article Processing Charges (APC)
● Accepted articles are subject to an APC (see journal’s APC policy). Waivers or discounts may be available.
Proofing and Publication
● Authors will receive page proofs for final corrections before publication.
● Articles are published online immediately after acceptance and formatting.
● All articles are open access, freely available under a CC BY license.
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Fungal Diversity is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal follows COPE guidelines in handling potential misconduct. Authors are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty, transparency, and responsibility in research and publication.
General Principles
1. Originality and Prior Publication
● Manuscripts must be original and not under consideration elsewhere.
● Previously published work should only be reused with transparency; avoid text recycling or “self-plagiarism”.
● Avoid dividing a single study into multiple submissions (“salami-slicing”) unless justified.
● Secondary or concurrent publication is acceptable only in specific cases (e.g., translations or different target audiences).
2. Data Integrity and Research Conduct
● Results must be reported honestly, clearly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation (including images).
● Data collection, analysis, and processing must follow discipline-specific standards.
● Authors must retain and provide raw data, samples, or records upon request to verify results. Sensitive or proprietary data may be excluded.
3. Authorship and Contributions
● The author list, corresponding author, and order of authors must be accurate at submission.
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; and Writing - review & editing. Note that not all roles may apply to every manuscript, and authors may have contributed through multiple role. ● Changes to authorship during revision are only permitted with justification; changes are not allowed after acceptance.
● All authors must approve the final manuscript.
4. Plagiarism and Attribution
● Do not present others’ data, text, or ideas as your own.
● Properly acknowledge all sources; use quotation marks for verbatim text and secure permissions for copyrighted material.
● The journal may use plagiarism detection software.
5. Permissions
● Obtain permission for the use of software, questionnaires, surveys, or scales where required.
● Secure permissions for previously published figures, tables, or text.
6. Citations and Literature
● Cite relevant, accurate, and peer-reviewed sources.
● Avoid excessive self-citation, citation manipulation, or preferential citation practices.
● Do not cite sources that have not been read or misrepresent cited work.
7. Responsible Reporting
● Avoid untrue or defamatory statements about individuals or organizations.
● Clearly identify research with potential dual-use concerns (e.g., public health or national security risks).

Author Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use
To ensure transparency and uphold the integrity of the scientific record, Fungal Diversity requires authors to disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of their manuscript. This disclosure is mandatory for all submissions.
Authors must declare any AI-assisted support used for:
● Writing or language editing;
● Data analysis, statistical or bioinformatic analyses;
● Figure, image, or graphical preparation.
The disclosure must include:
● The name of the AI tool used;
● The version number or date of use;
● The purpose and extent of its use.
AI tools must not be listed as authors, as they cannot meet authorship criteria or take responsibility for the work.

AI Use Statement (Required)
During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name of AI tool] (version/date: [version or date]) for [purpose]. The author(s) reviewed and edited all AI-assisted content and take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the final manuscript.

Handling Misconduct
If misconduct is suspected, Fungal Diversity and the publisher will investigate following COPE guidelines. Potential actions include:
Before publication: rejection of the manuscript.
After online publication:
● Erratum/correction.
● Expression of concern.
● Retraction (article remains online, watermarked “retracted,” with an explanation).
Notification of the author’s institution may occur.
Ethical breaches may be recorded in the peer review and bibliographic record.
Compliance
By submitting to Fungal Diversity, authors agree to these ethical responsibilities and confirm that all work is conducted and reported according to professional standards.