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• Physicochemical soil properties nonlinearly explain the history of LUC in China. • An explainable machine-learning method provides both local and global explanations. • A new perspective on LUC change with reliance on soil properties as drivers. • Toward knowledge gap-filling regarding soil properties in explaining LUC history. Enhancing our comprehension of soil processes and their impact on Earth requires precise quantification of human-induced soil alterations, particularly those related to land use/cover (LUC) histories. Thoroughly validated LUC and soil maps specific to China, and an explainable machine-learning approach were applied to reveal how soil physicochemical properties, independently or in combination, explain LUC histories in the last sixty years. Validation using historical data showed that the proposed machine-learning models can adequately simulate the pattern of LUC histories. Nonlinear mappings of various soil properties in explaining LUC histories were demonstrated and critical thresholds for changes in the explanatory capacities of each soil property to specific LUC histories were identified. Specifically, physical soil properties, except for soil pH, particularly soil thickness, clay content, bulk density, and coarse fragments, play significant roles in explaining the historical trajectories of forests, croplands, and pasture/rangelands than chemical soil properties. Predicted LUC changes suggest more intensive dynamics that are characterized by expansions in forest and pasture/rangeland areas, coupled with a reduction in cropland areas. Overall, improving understanding of the bidirectional links between soil and LUC changes is a crucial and imperative step towards refining the representation of soils in Earth system models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]