The light response of a BGO crystal has been measured for particles Z = 1-8, A = 1-16 in the energy range similar to2-60 A MeV. The reaction products are identified by a DeltaE(Si) - E(Sci/PD) telescope, The position of the jump in the value of the signal from the PD at the punch-through points is used to calibrate both the DeltaE(Si) and E(Sci/PD) scales in MeV. The dependence of the light output on the energy E, ion atomic number Z and mass A is parameterized by the power law relation, L(Z, A, E) = a(1)((Z, A))E(a2(Z, A)). The parameters a(1) and a(2) have a smooth dependence on Z for all three crystals. The mass dependence of a(1), a(2) is deduced as a simple analytical expression, The systematics of these parameters is presented for BGO, CsI(Tl) and GSO(Ce) scintillators as a function of Z, A. Calculations of the response function, based on the Murray-Mayer model provide an excellent description of the shape of L(Z, A, E) versus E dependence, but show some deviations in the individual ion normalization constant for the BGO and GSO(Ce) scintillators. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. (Less)