Conflict of interest

The editorial board of Biosphere Reserve "Askania Nova" Reports does not exclude a potential conflict of interests during the publication process.

A conflict of interests involves factors which have a negative impact on neutrality or can be interpreted as interference in the process of reviewing, making editorial decisions, publication, and presentation of a manuscript.

A conflict of interest may arise in relation to individuals or organizations and is divided into the following categories (but not limited to the below):

Personal conflict of interest

Personal relationships (e.g., friends, family members, actual or previous supervisors, opponents) with individuals involved in submitting or reviewing manuscripts (authors, reviewers, editors, or editorial board members);

personal beliefs (political, religious, ideological, and others) related to the manuscript’s topic may interfere with the objective process of publication (at the stage of submission, review, editorial decision-making, or publication).

Professional conflict of interest

A reviewer or editor is a colleague of the author who participated in or observed the conduct of the specific study.

Membership in organizations lobbying the author’s interests.

Financial conflict of interest

Research grants from various organizations funding governmental, non-governmental, research or charitable institutions.

Patent applications (existing or pending), including applications from institutions the author is affiliated with and from which one may profit.

Fees, gifts, and rewards of any kind.

All persons related to the manuscript, including authors, editors, reviewers, and readers, who comment on or evaluate the relevant paper, must report any conflict of interest.

If, according to the editors, there are circumstances that may affect an unbiased review, the editors will not engage such a reviewer into the peer-review process.

The editors reserve the right not to publish the manuscript if a conflict of interests declared by the author jeopardizes the objectivity and reliability of the research evaluation.

If the editorial office detects a conflict of interest that was not declared when submitting the manuscript, the manuscript may be rejected.