Interprovincial supply chains reshape the pattern of nitrogen deposition in China

Abstract. China faces severe atmospheric nitrogen deposition, with domestic consumption acting as a hidden key driver. Domestic interprovincial supply chains can reshape deposition patterns by reallocating emission burdens across provinces, yet its role in China’s nitrogen deposition remains poorly understood. Here, we quantify how domestic consumption reshapes China’s nitrogen deposition pattern by combining multi-regional input–output analysis with GEOS-Chem simulations. We find that domestic consumption was responsible for 10.5 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of China’s nitrogen deposition in 2017, accounting for 67 % of the national total. Reduced nitrogen (NHₓ) and wet deposition dominate this footprint, reflecting the strong influence of agricultural NH₃ emissions and precipitation-driven removal. Among all consumption demand categories, investment accounts for the largest share, followed by household and government consumption. We find a clear spatial mismatch that the provinces with high consumption affordabilities tend to net outsource emissions, while the provinces with intensive agricultural and industrial productions tend to be with net emission inflows. Sectorally, NH₃ emissions are emitted from livestock and crop production, mainly driven by domestic demand for food and agricultural products. In contrast, NOₓ emissions mainly originate from transport, power generation, and heavy industry, driven by consumption demand for infrastructure investment, manufactured goods, transport services, and energy-intensive products. Our findings show that interprovincial supply chains reshape China’s nitrogen deposition pattern by transferring emission burdens from developed coastal provinces to inland agricultural and industrial regions. Effective mitigation therefore requires coordinated strategies that combine production-side emission controls with consumption-based responsibility sharing.