During the 1990s, a soils database was developed by the International Soil Reference and Information Centre in The Netherlands for the project “World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials” (WISE). Using this database, we converted 1125 soil profiles from all around the world into a format that can be used as input data to some commonly used biophysical computer models, such as the crop simulation models that encompass the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). Soil data are often unavailable, particularly for many locations in the tropics and subtropics. If little or nothing is known about the soil for a particular location, this WISE database can be used to identify a profile for a particular soil type. This soil profile can then be used as an input for a crop model to simulate growth, development and yield for one or more crops for this location. With so many available profiles for each soil type, one can get an impression about the range of values for each soil parameter and then conduct a sensitivity analysis with respect to the model's response to this range. All soil profiles have been geo-referenced, and can thus be linked to the digital version of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World. We describe the methods used to convert the soil profile database, discuss the variability of key soil variables by soil type, illustrate how the database can be used, and conclude with a recommendation for further work to improve the database for biophysical modeling applications.