High-altitude environments are among the most sensitive to climate change, where impacts are amplified. To clarify alpine pasture dynamics in three typical mountains (i.e., Altay, Tianshan, and Kunlun) in central Asia, the change trends in the long-term summer peak Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were examined by applying three satellite sources: Landsat ETM+/OLI (1999–2020), Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (1981–2013), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (2000–2020). Satellite-derived NDVIs are reliable because similar variations can be observed during overlapping periods. The results show that the alpine pastures experienced overall greening. The most significant greening was observed in Kunlun Mountains and the high-altitude areas of Tianshan and Altay Mountains, where the annual average temperature is lower. Relationships between NDVI and potential driving factors, such as average precipitation (AP), surface soil water content (SSWC), total water storage (TWS), snow cover frequency, growing degree days (GDD), and average temperature (AT), were further analyzed. Over the last two decades, the optimal habitat of alpine pastures became warmer and wetter, as the AT, GDD, SSWC, TWS all showed increased trends. However, AP decreased at a rate of –0.625 mm/year, indicating that melting ice materials under current warming helped preserve moisture and soil water availability for pasture growth. Additionally, the primary factor regulating greenness patterns shifted from AP during 2002–2011 to GDD during 2012, 2014, and 2016–2020, indicating that the alpine pastures in central Asia have been increasingly dependent on climate warming. Our study highlights that the response of alpine pastures to climatic factors might change under ongoing climate change.

高海拔环境对气候变化最敏感，影响会被放大。为阐明中亚三座典型山地（即阿尔泰山、天山和昆仑山）的高寒牧场动态，应用三个卫星源研究了长期夏季高峰归一化差异植被指数（NDVI）的变化趋势：Landsat ETM+ /OLI (1999–2020)、全球清单建模和制图研究 (1981–2013) 和中分辨率成像光谱仪 (2000–2020)。卫星衍生的 NDVI 是可靠的，因为在重叠时期可以观察到类似的变化。结果表明，高山牧场经历了整体绿化。昆仑山、天山、阿尔泰山高海拔地区绿化最为显着，年平均气温较低的地方。NDVI与平均降水量（AP）、地表土壤含水量（SSWC）、总蓄水量（TWS）、积雪频率、生长度日（GDD）、平均气温（AT）等潜在驱动因子的关系为进一步分析。在过去的 20 年里，高山牧场的最佳栖息地变得越来越温暖和湿润，AT、GDD、SSWC、TWS 都呈现出增加的趋势。然而，AP 以 –0.625 毫米/年的速度下降，表明在当前变暖下融化的冰物质有助于保持牧场生长所需的水分和土壤水分。此外，调节绿化格局的主要因素从 2002-2011 年的 AP 转移到 2012、2014 和 2016-2020 年的 GDD，这表明中亚的高山牧场越来越依赖于气候变暖。我们的研究强调，在持续的气候变化下，高山牧场对气候因素的反应可能会发生变化。