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Cropland soil erosion is primarily caused by agricultural production and indirectly altered by consumption patterns. A well-developed grain trade system transfers grain products to distant locations, away from their place of origin where soil erosion may have occurred. Evidence-based policies to control soil erosion can be developed by holding consumers responsible for the soil erosion caused by their consumption. However, there have been few systematic studies on cropland soil erosion that is embodied in grain trade. In this study, we estimated the soil erosion intensity (SEI) of grain production in each province of China from 1990 to 2020 by combining the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and socio-economic statistics. We also constructed an interprovincial grain trade network using linear programming techniques and analyzed the cropland soil erosion associated with the interprovincial grain trade. The results showed a rise in national cropland soil erosion attributed to grain production from 5.36×108 t in 1990 to 7.56×108 t in 2020. In particular, those embodied in interprovincial grain trade increased from 0.94×108 t in 1990 to 3.52×108 t in 2020. Nationally, about 10.72% of soil erosion exports in 2020 was from provinces with lower-than-average SEI, compared to 18.42% in 1990, indicating that current patterns of grain production and consumption are unfavorable for erosion control. Accordingly, measures have been proposed to build a soil erosion control system that includes consumers, such as changing farming practices, optimizing agricultural layout, promoting technology export and establishing a provincial compensation mechanism. [Display omitted] • Trade was prominent and insufficiently explored driver for cropland soil erosion. • RUSLE and grain trade network were utilized to estimate embodied soil erosion. • Mismatch between production and consumption increased embodied soil erosion. • Soil erosion burden mainly shifted from south with high SEI to north with low SEI. • Current provincial grain trade patterns were not conducive to soil erosion control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cropland soil erosion is a major threat to global agricultural sustainability. Compared with the well-studied natural factors of soil erosion, socioeconomic factors have just begun to be considered. The major obstacle is that the soil erosion of different crops has not been accounted for and connected to socioeconomic activities. This study adopted the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and the environmentally extended multiregional input-output (EE-MRIO) model to account for soil erosion on cropland from the production, consumption, and income perspectives at the provincial and sectoral levels in China. The results showed the major responsible agents in a synthetic view. On the production side, the Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau and surrounding hills of the Sichuan Basin, the Chinese grain bases located in northeastern and central China, and the Loess Plateau were the major regions that caused the most cropland soil erosion. On the consumption side, the national final demand for Sichuan, Yunnan, Shandong, Henan, and other provinces with high production-based cropland soil erosion (PBE) values per se pulled remarkable cropland soil erosion. On the income side, the crucial provinces into which the national primary input enabled notable cropland soil erosion were still those areas with serious cropland soil erosion. From the industrial perspective, the direct effects of human primary inputs into agriculture and the demand for agricultural products played the dominant role. In addition, Cereal and BOP (beans, oil and potatoes) were the most important among the agricultural sectors. The effects of the nonagricultural sectors, especially the manufacture of foods and tobacco (MFT) and the chemical industry (CI), on cropland soil erosion also cannot be ignored. Our results indicated that accounting from multiple perspectives could inform the better management of cropland soil erosion from a more comprehensive perspective. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to consider the accounting of cropland soil erosion in China from multiple perspectives. Tailored packages of measures should be established based on different patterns of areas with serious cropland soil erosion. [Display omitted] • Cropland soil erosion accounting was based on a multi-regional input-output table. • Multiple perspectives' accounting shows the major responsible agents for soil loss. • Crops in different regions also were the key to tackle cropland soil erosion. • Cropland soil erosion control cannot just narrow down to four agricultural sectors. • Cropland soil erosion is not a local phenomenon but a macroscopic problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]