Plant diversity plays an important role in maintaining the stability of ecosystem functioning. Based on field surveys and indoor analyses, this study investigated the relationship between species diversity and community stability at different stages of bare patch succession in degraded alpine meadow ecosystems. Results show that: (1) Using the ICV (the Inverse of the Coefficient of Variation) method to analyze changes in plant community stability, community stability was generally ranked as follows: Long-term recovered patches > Healthy alpine meadow > Degraded alpine meadow > Short-term recovered patch > Bare Patches. (2) Using factor analysis to construct an evaluation system, the stability ranking based on species diversity was as follows: Healthy alpine meadow > Long-term recovered patches > Degraded alpine meadow > Short-term recovered patches > Bare Patches. (3) The community stability index was significantly positively correlated with vegetation coverage, height, biomass, species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, species evenness, and Simpson’s diversity index (p < 0.05). Therefore, a positive correlation exists between plant diversity and community stability, such that plant communities with a higher species diversity tend to be more stable. To maintain the plant diversity and community stability of alpine meadow ecosystems, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of grassland plant composition and community structure, as well as their influencing factors, and promote the positive succession process of grasslands.

This study aimed to understand the response of vegetation community characteristics in the degraded alpine meadow of the Source Zone of the Yellow River to exclosure of various lengths. Artificial fences were erected to prevent livestock grazing and let the degraded meadow recover naturally as a means of restoration. The research focused on a typical degraded alpine meadow in which four plots were fenced off for three periods of 1 year (E1), 4 years (E4), and 10 years (E10), plus a freely grazed plot as the control. The study compared and analyzed the differences in plant community characteristics, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) reserves, as well as the stoichiometric characteristics of main functional groups in the alpine meadow over different exclosure durations. The results indicated that E10 long-term exclosure significantly increased the aboveground biomass of gramineous plants but reduced the aboveground biomass of miscellaneous grasses. However, when compared to E4 short-term exclosure, E10 resulted in a reduction in the aboveground biomass of Cyperaceae plants. On the other hand, E4 medium-term exclosure significantly increased the aboveground biomass of Gramineae and Cyperaceae. Exclosure significantly increased the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) reserves of the aboveground plant communities. Among these communities, the plant communities in the E10 long-term exclosure had the highest N and P reserves. However, this exclosure length also led to a significant reduction in plant diversity. Furthermore, except for Cyperaceae, all functional groups were observed in E10 and E4 plots. The carbon–nitrogen ratio and carbon–phosphorus ratio of these groups were significantly lower than those of groups G and E1. Medium-term exclosure (E4) has a positive impact on the aboveground biomass as well as plants’ nitrogen and phosphorus reserves. However, long-term exclosure (E10) has been observed to decrease species diversity and nutrient utilization efficiency of alpine meadow vegetation, which can be detrimental to the sustainable development of the alpine meadow ecosystem. Therefore, it is not recommended to implement long-term exclosure. Instead, a moderate level of grazing should be adopted after 4 years of exclosure.

Grassland restoration is important for addressing ecosystem degradation and improving ecosystem services; however, the ultimate goal of grassland restoration, namely restoring degraded grasslands to a “healthy state”, lacks systematic and unified technical indicators. Focusing on the degraded alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau, we critically examine the conceptual and operational dilemmas of the “healthy grassland” standard and argue that, when applied as universal standards, neither fixed-threshold criteria (e.g., vegetation cover, biomass, and diversity) nor reference systems based on pristine meadows can provide scientifically sound and practically operable restoration targets. Drawing on alternative stable state theory and the novel ecosystems concept, we propose a shift from reference-based to goal-oriented restoration, with restoration targets stratified and classified by degradation degree, site conditions, and stakeholder demands. Synthesizing published meta-analyses and representative cases from the Tibetan Plateau, we show that restoration outcomes differ markedly with measures, recovery time, and regional conditions, and we outline a tentative tiered goal system of ecological security, functional recovery, structural optimization, and sustainable management as a testable framework, combined with adaptive management to reconcile multi-objective trade-offs. We conclude that goal-oriented, classified restoration provides more realistic and operable indicators of the ecosystem services that restored grasslands can be expected to deliver.