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eco.mont – Journal of Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management” was founded as a joint initiative of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR), the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Innsbruck. “eco.mont” offers a platform specifically for scientists and practitioners working in and on protected mountain areas in Europe and overseas. Target audiences of the journal are scientists from all related disciplines, managers of protected areas and an interested public including practitioners, visitors, teachers, etc.“eco.mont” is available by open access under CC BY-NC-ND-Licence from the Austrian Academy Press and in a printed version from Innsbruck University Press. Alpine protected areas play a key role in biodiversity conservation, but also in monitoring species and habitats. Since its first issue, eco.mont has published articles on long-term monitoring programmes in different areas of the Alps. The current issue again covers a wide range of topics concerning protected areas globally. Geographically, the articles cover protected areas in the Alps, the Apennines, China and Thailand. The subjects discussed include crosses on peaks and their systematic mapping, a citizen science project to study invasive plant species, research outcomes within and around the Swiss National Park, online marketing/sales system for products of an Austrian Biosphere Reserve, the transfer of Thai lichen data into a semantic web, the avifaunal biodiversity of a Wetland Park in China and the introduction of the final report on Alpine Parks in 2030.