Soil ecosystem service (SES) approaches evidence the importance of soil for human
well-being, contribute to improving dialogue between science and decision-making
and encourage the translation of scientific results into public policies.
Herein, through systematic review, we assess the state of the art of SES
approaches in tropical regions. Through this review, 41 publications were
identified; while most of these studies considered SES, a lack of a consistent
framework to define SES was apparent. Most studies measured soil natural capital
and processes, while only three studies undertook monetary valuation. Although
the number of publications increased (from 1 to 41), between 2001 and 2019, the
total number of publications for tropical regions is still small. Countries with
the largest number of publications were Brazil (
n
= 8),
Colombia (
n
= 6) and Mexico (
n
=
4). This observation emphasizes an important knowledge gap pertaining to SES
approaches and their link to tropical regions. With global momentum behind SES
approaches, there is an opportunity to integrate SES approaches into policy and
practice in tropical regions. The use of SES evaluation tools in tropical
regions could transform how land use decisions are informed, mitigating soil
degradation and protecting the ecosystems that soil underpins.