Abstract:The alpine meadows of the Tibetan Plateau served as the primary carrier for grazing activities and constituted a critical component of the plateau"s grassland ecosystems. However, these ecosystems were extremely fragile and prone to degradation. Fencing enclosure was adopted in recent years as a common measure to control overgrazing and promote sustainable pasture management, while also facilitating comparative studies on grazing impacts to grassland ecosystems. Nevertheless, single-point surveys had limitations in comprehensively understanding ecological processes and ecosystem stability at the landscape scale. This study utilized the experimental observation field at Naqu Station to invert two key ecological indicators—aboveground biomass (AGB) and total plant nitrogen content (TN)—in alpine meadows at the landscape scale by integrating the aerial surveys with quadrat sampling. The spatial distribution patterns of these indicators in grazing exclusion areas and adjacent naturally grazed zones were compared, and their underlying drivers were analyzed. Eight indicators were used in the inversion and NDVIg-b outperformed others. The results showed that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data achieved higher inversion accuracy for AGB (R2=0.863, RMSE=0.276 g/m2) than for plant TN (R2=0.373, RMSE=0.064 g/m2). The relatively low precision in TN is probably due to the mismatch with the optical shape. Visually, the UVA inversion could exhibit the detailed spatial distribution than the in-situ investigation. Spatially, AGB within fenced areas showed relatively stable values concentrated at 65-80 g/m2, significantly higher than in grazed zones (P<0.05), whereas species richness was lower compared to outside fences. For TN, both quadrat-scale and UAV landscape-scale analyses revealed similar mean concentrations (~2.1%), though spatial heterogeneity was observed. Long-term grazing exclusion promoted the development of forage plants, the AGB value was thus relatively higher. However, moderate disturbance maximized species richness; therefore, the naturally exposed zones carried more species. Fencing enclosure effectively ensured the sustained growth of palatable forage species, subsequently leading to a dilution effect on nutritional elements. Simultaneously, herbivory by yaks in the grazing area promotes pasture turnover and stimulates nutrient reallocation to developing plant tissues. This study indicated that medium-to-short-term grazing exclusion facilitated the recovery of forage species, playing a vital role in maintaining the health of alpine meadow ecosystems and ensuring regional ecological security and sustainable economic development. On the contrary, long-term exclusion did not achieve superior ecosystem development. The judicious implementation of grazing exclusion combined with periodic rotational grazing was found to optimize grassland ecosystem conservation and promote the sustainable development of high-quality forage. UAV technology offers an effective solution for ecological research in ultra-high-altitude regions by overcoming environmental constraints. Enhancing their operational robustness and data accuracy will further expand their utility in ecological studies.