Systematic review of soil ecosystem services in tropical regions

Abstract

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.

Methodical Aspects of Soil Ecosystem Services Valuation

“…Recognizing the importance of soils in the provision of ES and inspired by previously published studies, a recent study published a framework focused on soils (Rodrigues et al, 2021). This study reinforces the importance of research, projects and institutions to recognize well the definitions of the SES concept and other associated concepts such as soil properties, processes and functions.…”

Stepping on invisible land: on the importance of communicating the value of soils

“…The quality of soil resources affects human well-being in multiple ways [25,26]. Soil has, however, historically received less attention than other natural resources, such as water, in the context of conservation.…”

“…We used the soil ecosystem services framework from [25] to categorise the perceptions from unstructured interviews. This framework defines soil ecosystem services as the benefits people demand from soils for their quality of life.…”

“…This resulted in 29 unstructured interviews and registered 69 comments considering soil ecosystem services. Most of the comments (N = 34) related to provision services, cultural (N = 31) and four indicated regulation services following classification of [25], Table 1. Notably, in Cabo Frio, only one interviewee was aware of the existence of sambaqui and described it as an indigenous cemetery.…”

Historical Ecology in Brazil: A Systematic Mapping of Scientific Articles (1998–2021)

“…It does not attempt to answer questions that require critical analysis; instead, it describes available evidence; this is useful to identify general patterns and knowledge gaps about the research topic [49]. Systematic mapping formulates a narrative description of the state of the evidence base [50]; this descriptive approach is similar to other published review studies [50][51][52]. We conducted a systematic mapping to catalog all the published scientific articles about Historical Ecology in Brazil in Portuguese, English, and Spanish until May 2021.…”