Mountains and highlands are not what scholars have conventionally imagined them to be: environments that limit and constrain their inhabitants in deterministic ways. Rather, mountains and highlands provide unique opportunities for people to engage in creative transformation of their societies. Highland communities are connected to a wider world, and they radically remake and experiment with their landscapes, settlements, and societies. Mountains serve as birthplaces and testing grounds for statecraft, urbanism, irrigation, and monumental landscape engineering. Here we explore the diversity of highland communities by analysing the latest archaeological and historical discoveries from three regions across Southeast Asia: the Kulen mountains (Cambodia), the volcanoes of central Java (Indonesia), and the Ifugao highlands (the Philippines). We find that, far from being a negative image of the ‘civilized’ lowlands, mountains were creative, diverse, dynamic, and well-connected places. This compels us to change the way we conceive of today’s highland communities and their relationships to modern nation-states.

Access to care services in remote areas is challenging. The use of telemedicine technology in these areas facilitates access to health care. This study aimed to summarize the current research on telemedicine in remote areas such as mountains and forests. A systematic search was conducted in databases including Medline (through PubMed), Scopus, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, and ISI Web of Science to identify relevant studies published until May 12, 2021. Screening of retrieved articles for selection and inclusion in the study was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. A total of 807 articles were identified after removing duplicates, from which 20 studies meeting our inclusion criteria were selected. Challenges, opportunities, and equipment required to use telemedicine in remote areas were extracted from the selected studies. The results revealed that telemedicine implementation in remote areas had many challenges, including harsh weather conditions, Internet connectivity problems, difficult equipment transportation, and ethical issues. Telemedicine also has many benefits, such as cost and time savings for patients, improving patients’ quality of life, and improving patient satisfaction. Telemedicine for inhabitants of forested and mountainous areas facilitates rapid access to health care and enhances patient satisfaction. Distinguishing advantages and barriers as well as reducing restrictions will have an essential role in accelerating the use of this technology.

Kilimanjaro is experiencing the consequences of climate change and multiple land-use pressures. Few paleoenvironmental and archeological records exist to examine historical patterns of late Holocene ecosystem changes on Kilimanjaro. Here we present pollen, phytolith, and charcoal (>125 μm) data from a palustrine sediment core that provide a 3000-year radiocarbon-dated record collected from a wetland near the headwaters of the Maua watershed in the alpine and ericaceous vegetation zones. From 3000 to 800 cal yr BP, the pollen, phytolith, and charcoal records show subtle variability in ericaceous and montane forest assemblages with apparent multicentennial secular variability and a long-term pattern of increasing Poaceae and charcoal. From 800 to 600 cal yr BP, montane forest taxa varied rapidly, Cyperaceae abundances increased, and charcoal remained distinctly low. From 600 yr cal BP to the present, woody taxa decreased, and ericaceous taxa and Poaceae dominated, with a conspicuously increased charcoal influx. Uphill wetland ecosystems are crucial for ecological and socioeconomic resilience on and surrounding the mountain. The results were synthesized with the existing paleoenvironmental and archaeological data to explore the high spatiotemporal complexity of Kilimanjaro and to understand historical human-environment interactions. These paleoenvironmental records create a long-term context for current climate, biodiversity, and land-use changes on and around Kilimanjaro.

Archaeologists have long acknowledged the significance of mountains in siting Greek cult. Mountains were where the gods preferred to make contact and there people constructed sanctuaries to inspire intervention. Greece is a land full of mountains, but we lack insight on the ancient Greeks’ view—what visible and topographic characteristics made particular mountains ideal places for worship over others, and whether worshiper preferences ever changed. This article describes a data collection and analysis methodology for landscapes where visualscape was a significant factor in situating culturally significant activities. Using a big-data approach, four geospatial analyses are applied to every cultic place in the Peloponnesian regions of the Argolid and Messenia, spanning 2800–146 BC. The fully described methodology combines a number of experiences—looking out, looking toward, and climbing up—and measures how these change through time. The result is an active historic model of Greek religious landscape, describing how individuals moved, saw, and integrated the built and natural world in different ways. Applied elsewhere, and even on nonreligious locales, this is a replicable mode for treating the natural landscape as an artifact of human decision: as a space impacting the siting of meaningful locales through history.

This paper aimed at evaluating the effect of summer transhumance to mountain pastures of dairy cows of different breeds on cheese-making ability of milk. Data were from 649 dairy cows of specialized (Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss) dual purpose (Simmental) and local (mostly Rendena and Alpine Grey) breeds. The Fourier-Transform Infra-Red Spectra (FTIRS) of their milk samples were collected before and after transhumance in 109 permanent dairy farms, and during transhumance in 14 summer farms (with multi-breeds herds) of the Trento Province, north-eastern Italy. A variety of 18 traits describing milk coagulation, curd firming, cheese yield and nutrients recovery in curd/loss in whey were predicted on the basis of FTIRS collected at the individual cow level. Moving the cows to summer farms improved curd firming traits but reduced cheese yields because of an increase of water and fat lost in the whey. During summer grazing, most of cheese-making traits improved, often non-linearly. The milk from summer farms supplementing cows with more concentrates showed better curd firming and cheese yield, because of lower fat lost in the whey. The breed of cows affected almost all the traits with a worst cheese-making ability for milk samples of Holsteins through all the trial, and interacted with concentrate supplementation because increasing compound feed tended to improve cheese-making traits for all breed, with the exception of local breeds for coagulation time and of Brown Swiss for curd firming time. In general, summer transhumance caused a favourable effect on cheese-making aptitude of milk, even though with some difference according to parity, initial days in milk, breed and concentrate supplementation of cows.

Until recently animals inhabiting mountain areas were relatively free from disturbance by people but they are now coming under increasing pressure. Tourism, especially that involving large numbers of people, is having an ever more detrimental effect on the natural resources of high mountains, even in protected areas. We analyse the effect of tourist pressure on the population of the Tatra chamois Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica, which inhabits the strictly protected high-altitude habitats of the Tatra mountains (Carpathians, Poland). The Kasprowy Wierch cable car system, in operation since 1936, was modernized in 2007; as a consequence 50% more people can now be carried into the chamois’ habitat. The effect of this sudden increase in tourist pressure has been to reduce the size of herds (3.9 vs 5.3 individuals) and to increase the distance between the animals and the cable car station (1,664.0 vs 693.0 m), the cable car infrastructure (1,415.0 vs 467.8 m) and adjacent ski-lifts and ski pistes (1,214.2 vs 494.3 m). The distance to the marked hiking trails has not changed, however. Following the modernization of the cable cars, larger herds of chamois have been seen at greater distances from the tourist infrastructure. Our results indicate the adverse impact of this mass tourism. Human activities in high-mountain ecosystems need to have due consideration for the requirements of wild species, and the number of visitors needs to be controlled.

275 échantillons de sols ont été prélevés dans le bassin versant du Haut-Doubs situé dansle massif montagneux du Jura en fonction d’une stratégie d’échantillonnage conçue pourévaluer l’étendue de la variabilité spatiale de la contamination en 137Cs dansla zone d’étude et identifier les principales sources de variation. Les sols présententdes activités surfaciques en 137Cs comprises entre environ 1 000 et 12 000Bq.m-2 avec une moyenne de l’ordre de 3 600 Bq.m2. La variabilitéspatiale des contaminations est élevée : l’activité surfacique montre des liensstatistiquement significatifs avec l’altitude, la teneur en matière organique et le moded’occupation des sols, alors que les autres paramètres étudiés, type de sol et positiontopographique, ne constituent pas des sources significatives de variations. Ces résultatssont discutés en termes d’évaluation des contaminations radioactives en zone de montagne àune échelle régionale. Ils montrent que pour être satisfaisante une stratégied’échantillonnage doit nécessairement intégrer les différents modes d’occupation dessols.

In the mountainous areas of Europe with a humid climate, dairy cattle production is a major agricultural activity, and the milk is often processed into cheese according to protected designation of origin (PDO) specifications. We analyzed the extent to which PDO specifications and/or a mountain environment influence the spatial distribution of estimated breeding values (EBVs) of cows and the herd–year effects (HYEs) for milk yield (kg/lactation) and protein and fat contents (g/kg), as well as lactation ranks and calving months. The study focused on the northern French Alps. A total of 37 023 lactations, recorded in 2006, in 1153 herds were analyzed. The cows belonged to the Montbéliarde (21 516 lactations), Abondance (10 346 lactations) and Tarentaise (5161 lactations) breeds. The two factors of variation considered were the status of the commune where the farm was located in relation to PDO (three categories: area with no PDO, area with a PDO with no milk yield limit, area with a PDO with a milk yield limit) and ‘mountain’ environment (four categories based on the European regulation: plain, piedmont, mountain and high mountain). In the Abondance breed, the average lactation rank increased with an increase in production constraints due to the PDO or to a mountain environment. In the Abondance and Tarentaise breeds, grouping of calving in winter was most marked in the ‘PDO with a milk yield limit’ and ‘high-mountain’ categories. In the Tarentaise breed, no significant effect on any trait and any variable was found in the ‘PDO’ or ‘mountain’ categories. In the other two breeds, the average EBV for milk yield decreased with an increase in the constraints due to PDO, with differences of 226 and 93 kg between extreme values in the Abondance and Montbéliarde breeds, respectively. The average HYE for milk yield was higher in the Abondance breed in the ‘PDO with no milk yield limit’ category than in the other categories (+740 and +1110 kg, respectively); HYE was not affected by the ‘PDO’ factor in the Montbéliarde breed or by the ‘mountain’ factor in either breed. Concerning the protein and fat contents, the effect of the ‘PDO’ and ‘mountain’ factors depended on the trait, the variable and the breed. The proportion of individual decisions (the farmer makes the decision) v. collective decisions (breed management) concerning herd dynamics in the face of existing constraints is discussed.

The influence of high altitude, alpine origin of the forage and roughage-only diets on milk protein content and composition, plasmin activity and cheesemaking properties was investigated. There were four treatment groups, each consisting of six dairy cows in early to mid-lactation. Two groups were fed only with hay ad libitum either at 2000 m or at 400 m a.s.l. One group, kept in the lowlands, was pair-fed to the alpine-site group and another group received a mixed diet of silages, hay and concentrates. Two hay types, harvested either at the alpine site or in the lowlands, were offered to all cows fed with hay alone, following a change-over design in three periods each of 3 weeks. In the respective third week, milk was sampled at every milking. Hay of alpine origin significantly reduced milk protein, in particular whey proteins, which is why the casein number increased. κ-Casein proportion in total casein was reduced and its glycosylation was increased by the alpine hay. The apparent plasminogen-derived activity was reduced when alpine hay was given, but apparent plasmin activity and rennet coagulation properties of the milk were not affected by hay type. Independent of hay type, the high altitude group showed a significantly reduced milk protein content, lower glycosylation of κ-casein and impaired rennet coagulation properties. For several of the traits, the trend was the same in the pair-fed group. There was no effect of altitude on apparent plasmin activity. Hay-alone v. the mixed diet resulted initially in marked declines in milk protein content but did not impair cheesemaking properties. Thus the extensive diet without concentrates, typical of high-alpine conditions, contributed less to the overall effect of extensive alpine v. intensive lowland feeding systems than hay quality and altitude did. In conclusion, certain positive influences of the alpine sojourn of cows on cheese processing quality are overruled by the major adverse impact of lower milk protein content.

We present the results of a four-years monitoring program of Lake Duchessa, a small shallow subalpine lake situated at 1788 m a.s.l. in central Apennines (Italy). From 1997 to 2000, during snow free periods, we regularly measured conductivity, pH, macrophyte cover and water transparency. Contemporarily, 4 water samples were collected to determine nutrient (NH3-N, NO2N, NO3-N and PO4-P) and phytoplanktonic chlorophyll a concentrations. Taxonomic compositions of aquatic macrophytes, zooplankton and macroinvertebrates were also determined. Inter- and intra-annual variation of water chemistry and phytoplankton biomass were addressed. Lake Duchessa showed some limnological aspects proper to lowland eutrophic situations due to livestock grazing in the watershed pastures and watering in the lake. In particular, nutrient concentration and phytoplankton biomass reached extremely high values, and lake community was relatively poor. However, despite the high nutrient loading, phytoplankton biomass collapsed in August 1997. In the same occasion, lake water became transparent and remained clear until the end of 1999. The occurrence of this clear water phase and its surprising span may be related to the reduction of tench population (due to a natural fish kill observed during the study) and to the extension of Potamogeton pectinatus L. and Myriophyllum spicatum L. cover. Our results support early observations that water transparency (i.e. environmental quality) of eutrophic shallow lakes can be improved also when nutrient loading is not reduced. Many of the Apennine lakes and ponds situated at high altitudes show conditions similar to those of Lake Duchessa. Therefore this study highlights the ecological processes to be considered in a reliable management of these freshwater systems.

Le catalogue des Chironomidés des Alpes françaises et des basses régions avoisinantes, c'est-à-dire de la portion du territoire français située au sud et à l'est du Rhône (Camargue comprise), est établi à partir des travaux antérieurs. L'aire couverte se présente comme une interpénétration complexe d'une partie de la zone 4 (Alpes au-dessus de 1 000 m d'altitude) et d'une partie de la zone 13 (basses régions occidentales au-dessous de 1 000 m d'altitude) de la Limnofauna Europaea d'Illies(1978).On a recensé au total 335 espèces, dont 13 nouvelles pour la zone 4 et 123 nouvelles pour la zone 13. En France, le total des espèces de Chironomidés connues des Pyrénées, du Massif Central, des Alpes et des basses régions situées approximativement au sud de la Loire et du Rhône s'élève actuellement à 496.

The black-fly fauna of Drovrefjell National Park, Central Norway, was investigated at elevations between 870 m and 1 630 m and covered the sub-alpine, low- and middle-alpine vegetation zones. We found 13 black-fly species and a dominance of three non-bloodsucking species, Prosimulium ursinum, Cnephia tredecimata and Eusimulium crassum, in this area. E. crassum dominated the bog stream habitat, while C. tredecimata and P. ursinum dominated the outlet habitat. The parthenogenesis of P. ursinum is an advantage over a sexual reproduction in the extreme habitat of glacier fed outlets. While mammalophilic species were absent or scarce, we found a high proportion of bird-feeding Eusimulium spp. E. corniferum and E. carpathicum have not been previously recorded from Norway.

Le catalogue actualisé des Chironomidés du Massif Central français et des basses régions avoisinantes est établi à partirde travaux récents et même parfois inédits.261 espèces, dont 60 nouvelles pour la Zone 8 (Massifs montagneux de moyenne altitude) de la Limnofauna Europaea, sont recensées. Le total des espèces de Chironomidés connus du Massif Central et des Pyrénées s'élève actuellement à 370.

Des récoltes d'invertébrés benthiques ont été effectuées dans le Gave d'Ossau, rivière des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, et dans ses principaux tributaires, entre 450 et 2 150 m d'altitude. Après une présentation détaillée du milieu, un bilan des espèces les plus intéressantes est donné : 7 sont nouvelles pour la Science, 16 pour la France et 26 pour la zone 2 de la Limnofauna Europaea.La succession longitudinale des biocénoses et leur déterminisme sont ensuite analysés. Sur le Gave d'Ossau, on observe un remplacement progressif des espèces d'amont par des espèces d'aval plutôt qu'une succession de communautés nettement individualisées ; le schéma de zonation des cours d'eau proposé par Illies et Botosaneanu (1963) apparaît difficile à appliquer à ces rivières de montagne.