 He also built up a considerable collection of books on the natural sciences and later donated some 385 items to Annecy Library, along with a 2,000 franc sum to maintain and expand it.He was a member of the , founded in 1607, and contributed articles to that association's journal of research in the Savoy region.Payot made many botanical studies of the mountains of the Mont Blanc massif, publishing numerous academic books or pamphlets on the subject, including vascular plants, ferns, bryophytes, and herpetology.