Abstract ID: 3.12828 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

The application of acoustic monitoring has seen a global increase in recent years. Acoustic monitoring is a valuable approach to monitoring, observing, and documenting ecological information emanating from both sound-producing organisms and abiotic factors in an area. However, mountainous habitats present unique challenges to this approach, due to the topographic and climatological complexities of these environments. Therefore, we sought to investigate how researchers deploy acoustic recorders in these complex environments, to examine which commonalities and inconsistencies emerge in mountain ecoacoustics. Our main focus on deployment techniques was on key parameters such as inter-recorder distance, sample rate, duration of the study, and the type of recording devices We conducted a systematic review to extract the literature on acoustic monitoring studies conducted in mountainous landscapes. We used the Scopus search engine to extract the relevant literature from 2003 to 2024, we searched titles, abstracts, and keywords using this combination ((soundscape OR bioacoustics OR ecoacoustics OR PAM) AND (Mountain OR *alpine OR andean OR high-elevation OR high-altitude)). We followed the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and ended up with a total of 52 from the initial 294 studies eligible for this systematic review. Our findings revealed that there is a no standardized technique for deploying acoustic recorders in mountains due to varying topography and climatological factors across mountains. Furthermore, we found out that there is inconsistency in reporting important information such as the sample rate, duration of the study, and type of recording equipment used in studies. These inconsistencies limit the comparability of results across studies and reproducibility of studies. To address this gap, we propose the APRISM-D guideline, which will improve reporting consistency of key parameters on Acoustic devices, Power supply & storage, Recording schedule, Inter-recorder distance, Sample rate, Mounting height, and Duration of the study. APRISM-D aims to enhance consistency and transparency in reporting, facilitating better data comparability and improving the reliability of ecological insights from acoustic monitoring. This work highlights the urgent need for consistent reporting on key deployment techniques to advance mountain acoustic ecology and support sustainable management of these critical ecosystems.