Introduction

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) that are primarily composed of minerals which differ from their parent materials in their texture, structure, consistency, color, chemical, biological and other characteristics. It is the unconsolidated or loose covering of fine rock particles that covers the surface of the earth.[1] Soil is the end product of the influence of the climate (temperature, precipitation), relief (slope), organisms (flora and fauna), parent materials (original minerals), and time. In engineering terms, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose rock material that lies above the 'solid geology'.[citation needed] In horticulture, the terms 'soil' is defined as the layer that contains organic material that influences and has been influenced by plant roots and may range in depth from centimetres to many metres. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock (parent materials) which have been altered by physical, chemical and biological processes that include weathering (disintegration) with associated erosion (movement). Soil is altered from its parent material by the interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.[2] It is a mixture of mineral and organic materials in the form of solids, gases and liquids.[3][4] Soil is commonly referred to as "earth" or "dirt"; technically, the term "dirt" should be restricted to displaced soil.[5] Soil forms a structure filled with pore spaces and can be thought of as a mixture of solids, water, and gases.[6] Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three-state system. [7] Most soils have a density between 1 and 2 g/cm.[8] Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic,[9] although fossilised soils are preserved from as far back as the Archean.

Conclusion All the cities have maps on geology, litology and/or pedology, at least with the FAO classification for agricultural purposes, but these maps are generally not very detailed (too large a scale) and show topics of marginal interest for the planning purposes in urban areas. But the urban areas problems concerning soil have been taken into consideration and studied from quite different points of view:

In Athens until now, it has been mainly a problem of flow off control (see map on equal inclinations, hydrolitology etc.). But the main problems have been shown to be soil sealing and also soil pollution due to the industrial presence in the area.

Milan, Moscow and Berlin are cities with industrial settlements. All have all elaborated detailed soil pollution maps (Moscow) or even exact catasters of polluted sites (Berlin, Milan).

Berlin has gathered data on urban soil types to study and analyse the biotic functions of the soil. But this kind of analysis was only possible thanks to the large amount of data derived from research projects of universities and other institutes.

An interesting exception is Rome with its archeological and underground cavity maps. Soil pollution from old industrial activities indeed is a relatively rare problem in Rome, so that no map of this kind has been produced till now.

The basic map for the topic soil has shown to be the soil sealing map, as it points out an omni-present problem and is also needed to derive other environmental information. The information from this map has been elaborated by the EIS Berlin to deduct the maps of flow off, ground water regeneration rate and climatic functions in the urban area.