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.

土壤生态系统服务（SES）方法证明了土壤对人类福祉的重要性，有助于改善科学与决策之间的对话，并鼓励将科学成果转化为公共政策。在这里，通过系统的审查，我们评估了热带地区SES方法的最新技术水平。通过这次审查，确定了41种出版物；尽管这些研究大多数都考虑了SES，但显然缺乏定义SES的一致框架。大多数研究测量土壤的自然资本和过程，而只有三项研究进行了货币估价。尽管出版物数量有所增加（从1增至41），但在2001年至2019年之间，热带地区的出版物总数仍然很少。出版物数量最多的国家是巴西（n= 8），哥伦比亚（n = 6）和墨西哥（n = 4）。该观察结果强调了与SES方法及其与热带地区的联系有关的重要知识鸿沟。随着SES方法背后的全球动力，有机会将SES方法整合到热带地区的政策和实践中。在热带地区使用SES评估工具可以改变告知土地使用决策的方式，减轻土壤退化并保护土壤基础的生态系统。