Save the life-sustaining mattic layer on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The Kobresia pastures on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) are a key feature of the world’s largest alpine ecosystem. They occupy approximately 450,000 km2, nearly 1/5 of the area of the QTP, and dominate the headwaters of most of Asia’s great rivers (Figure 1).1 Kobresia plants are typically only a few centimeters tall and form a fairly firm turf blanketing all relief positions wherever the environment allows. The Kobresia roots are interwoven with the surface soil. This characteristic layer is called a “mattic epipedon—a mat-like surface soil layer,” according to Chinese soil taxonomy.