Research overview: alpine meadow and permafrost change in snow leopard range

The high plateaus and meadows that underpin snow leopard prey systems are sensitive to warming, permafrost thaw, and altered precipitation. This overview surveys how degradation of alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding ranges affects forage for wild ungulates and the cascading consequences for predator carrying capacity. It covers interactions among grazing pressure, rodent dynamics, soil moisture, and shrub expansion, and how remote sensing of vegetation productivity is used to track these shifts. The piece situates meadow health as an indirect but powerful driver of snow leopard habitat quality, explaining why some climate studies focus on the grassland base of the food web rather than the cat directly.