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Plastics are synthetic organic polymers playing an irreplaceable role in our everyday life. However, their massive use, improper management and end-life disposal cause plastic accumulation in the environment. Plastic contamination is ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including mountain remote areas. The present work aimed at investigating the presence of macroplastics on five glaciers of the Italian Central-Western Alps, namely Cedec and Forni glaciers (Ortles-Cevedale group) and Indren, Lys and Verra glaciers (Monte Rosa group). In late spring-summer of 2020, macroplastics were collected along normal access paths leading to some peaks of these mountain groups. In laboratory, macroplastics were sorted according to their weight, size, color, origin, usage section and polymeric composition. Macroplastics were found along all the paths, with a mean (± standard error) abundance of 18.9 ± 5.1 items per transect and an abundance per linear km ranging between 2.4 and 26.4 items/km. No significant differences of macroplastic abundance occurred between the mountain groups. Polyolefin, such as polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene, were the most frequent polymers contaminating glaciers, accounting for the 31% of the fingerprint, followed by polyethylene terephthalate (12%) and polyurethane (8%). The origin of most macroplastics was attributable to food packaging and items deriving from the wear of mountaineering equipment and/or clothing, which reached glacier paths through deliberate or involuntary abandonment. Virtuous behaviors aimed at limiting the abandonment of plastic waste or at collecting the items encountered on the paths should be encouraged to reduce the amount of macroplastics in remote areas.

The study describes the current ecological-biological state of the high-mountain meadow biogeocoenoses' components (soils, vegetation, earthworms), which were formed in the subalpine belt of the Cherek-Bezengi canyon in the Kabardino-Balkaria State High-Mountain Reserve. The vegetation has been represented mainly by subalpine meadows. In medium-grass meadow phytocoenoses, the proportion of mesophytes was 70%, xeromesophytes – 20%, mesoxerophytes – 10%. Synecological indices (Shannon Index, Simpson Index, Pielou Index, Hartley Index and integral index) indicated a high floristic and phytocenosis diversity of hay meadows and a lower diversity of phytocoenoses of disturbed areas. Lumbricidae were the best represented in the mesofauna. Six species (with dominance of Dendrobaena schmidti) have been found in a small site of the Cherek-Bezengi canyon. These species are adapted to the cold and humid climate of the high-mountain region of the Central Caucasus. Distribution of forest earthworm species in the subalpine belt and changes of their habitats indicated more comfortable temperature conditions of meadow ecosystems in comparison with forest ecosystems. It also demonstrates the role of thermal balance as the basic limiting factor forming biotic coenoses. Based on enzymatic activity parameters and humus content, we determined the levels and spatial variation of biological activity of mountain-meadow subalpine soils which have been formed under meadow phytocoenoses. We have shown the essential dominance of hydrolase activity (high and middle levels) in comparison with oxidoreductase activity (low and very low levels). This characterises the intensity and direction of biochemical processes in high-mountain soil. Under conditions of disturbed phytocoenoses, we have determined a decrease of both the total soil biological activity (at 65%) and the integral biodiversity index (at 20%). A close joint connection between the investigated biological parameters (r = 0.74–0.86) reflected the important role of biotic communities' diversity in forming biological activity of mountain-meadow subalpine soils. The obtained data serve as a basis for monitoring of the soil-vegetation cover. Their protection is a requirement to maintain the biodiversity status in the Kabardino-Balkaria State High-Mountain Reserve.

Páramos, neotropical high-mountain biomes of the northern Andes, are increasingly threatened by human land use and climate change. Accurate land use/land cover (LULC) mapping is critical for monitoring these pressures. However, persistent cloud cover poses substantial challenges for optical satellite imagery. This study leverages multitemporal Interferometry SAR (InSAR) coherence and dual polarimetric backscatter intensity to improve LULC mapping accuracy in páramos ecosystems. Using a 1-year Sentinel-1 time series from January to December 2019, 17 LULC classes were mapped across 17,000 hectares. Results demonstrate that integrating backscatter and coherence increased F1-Score and overall accuracy by 9% and 11%, respectively, compared to backscatter alone. This emphasizes the critical role of multitemporal SAR for LULC mapping in cloud-prone regions. Additionally, this study underscores the utility of cloud-based platforms for efficient SAR data processing, offering a scalable approach for mapping high-mountain ecosystems worldwide, especially in inaccessible and heavy precipitation regions.

We examine the richness and diversity of the flora of the Zarafshan Range in Tajikistan by using endemic species as an example. We determined the character and type of ecosystems, and the presence of endemics in a particular biotope. A potential threat to the unique ecosystems is brought by the cutting down of shrubs and juniper vegetation, unauthorized removal of rare plants, gathering of edible plants as well as waterlogging of the territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]