Soil erosion resilience under climate extremes: Disentangling the impacts of vegetation restoration and rainfall intensification across China

• Vegetation recovery led to a 0.071 t·hm −2 ·a −1 reduction in erosion rate in the 2010s compared to the 1990s. • Extreme rainfall increased soil erosion rates by 2.9 %, partially offsetting the benefits of vegetation restoration. • The increased risk of soil erosion due to extreme rainfall should be given serious attention. Soil erosion is a global and interconnected biogeochemical process whose mechanisms are being profoundly altered by the interactions between climate change and vegetation dynamics. A critical scientific question is addressed in this study: how the effectiveness of vegetation restoration in reducing soil erosion is gradually undermined by increasingly frequent and intense extreme rainfall events. We integrate the Chinese Soil Loss Equation (CSLE) with high-resolution (30 m) satellite data and sub-hourly rainfall observations using the Google Earth Engine platform. Our nationwide assessment reveals an average soil erosion rate of 15.54 t ha −1 yr −1 , with significant reductions in key erosion-prone regions: the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (–8.14 %), Sichuan Hilly Basin (–16.17 %), Loess Plateau (–21.53 %), and Northeast China’s Black Soil Region (–10.34 %). Vegetation recovery contributed to a long-term decline in erosion rates at 0.071 t ha −1 yr −1 , yet this was partially offset by a 2.9 % increase in erosion linked to intensifying extreme rainfall events. Our findings demonstrate that climate-driven precipitation extremes are undermining gains from ecological restoration, highlighting the urgent need to incorporate extreme event resilience into global soil conservation strategies.