Human footprints and climate change have reshaped the soil formation rate pattern of carbonate rocks in China

Carbonate rock weathering and soil formation form a key link in the global carbon cycle; however, the response mechanism to climate and human activities remains unclear. By integrating thermodynamic dissolution models with structural equation modeling, we quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of the potential soil formation rate (SFR) of carbonate rocks in China—defined as the maximum weathering-derived soil production in the absence of lateral transport loss—based on 1-km resolution data spanning 2003–2020, and we further elucidate the underlying driving mechanisms. The results show that the multiyear average potential SFR for carbonate bedrock areas in China is 29.93 t/km 2 /yr, presenting a latitudinal zonal pattern of high values in the southwest and low values in the northeast, with the peak value occurring in the area between 20°N and 25°N. Lithology is the basis of spatial differentiation, and the mean of the carbonate-rock and clastic-rock interbedded association (SFR_CA) (104.65 t/km 2 /yr) is 9.5 times that of the continuous carbonate rock association (SFR_HC). Precipitation is the main driver, with a relative contribution rate of 41.26% to SFR. CO 2 exhibits significant spatially differentiated regulatory effects, inhibiting soil formation in 47.41% of the carbonate bedrock area. The impact of the human footprint is complex, with weak positive effects coexisting with extensive negative dominant areas. The results of this study reveal that the multilevel feedback network comprising humans, climate, and geology is the key driving force reshaping the soil formation pattern of karst, providing a new theoretical basis for assessing the soil formation pattern under global change.