Since the Renaissance, research on the indigenous nature in mountain regions has experienced a major boom. After the discovery of America, the Spanish crown started to claim „relaciones” (reports) from sailors, as well as from local officials, to gather information about thenature and people of the newly discovered territories. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Andes, the Alps and the Himalayas were once a more central focus of natural research, as the travels to the Alps by Horace-Bénédictde Saussure (1740–1799), the Chimborazo expedition byAlexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), or the journey ofthe Jesuit Ippolito Desideri (1684–1733) to Tibet prove. The case studies of the conference IAAH 2020 focus on the natural history research in mountain regions from16th to 20th century, with a comparative approach, emphasizing the role of the actors, their practices, the circulation of objects and knowledge.