Get your Ecological Engineering paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 10 August, 2026
Submitting to Ecological Engineering goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Ecological Engineering guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Ecological Engineering. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Ecological Engineering journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Ecological Engineering guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Ecological Engineering guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Ecological Eng requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract required, maximum 250 words. The abstract should briefly state the purpose of research, principal results and major conclusions. No specific headings required. No differentiation by article type mentioned in the guide |
| Main text | Short Communications: maximum 10 pages (A4 or US letter) not counting title page or references, with no more than 4 figures + tables combined and around 30 citations or fewer. Full papers (Research Papers): No explicit word or page limit stated in the guide for full papers |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 1 to 7 keywords required for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Authors should try to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of'). Only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field |
| References | Author-year citation style (Harvard-type). In-text citations use author name(s) and year. Single author: name and year; two authors: both names and year; three or more: first author et al. and year. Reference list arranged alphabetically then chronologically. Journal names abbreviated according to LTWA (List of Title Word Abbreviations). References can be in any style at initial submission as long as consistent; journal style will be applied at proof stage after acceptance |
| Peer review | Single-anonymized (single-blind) review process. Submission initially assessed by editors for suitability, then typically sent to a minimum of two reviewers for independent expert assessment of scientific quality. Final decision made by editors |
| Submission | submit.elsevier.com/ECOLENG |
Read the Ecological Engineering guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Ecological Engineering in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Ecological Eng papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Ecological Engineering journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Ecological Engineering guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.