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Munafò et al. /
Qualità dell’ambiente urbano – XI Rapporto (2015)
ISPRA Stato dell’Ambiente 63/15 pagg. 130 – 154
131
Abstract
Soil is a thin porous medium biologically active, result of complex phenomena and
continuous interaction between physical and chemical processes in the contact zone
between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, and it is a non
renewable natural resource, which supports human activities thanks its
environmental, economic, social, scientific and cultural (APAT, 2008; Fumanti, 2009;
ISPRA 2014). The soil formation is an extremely slow process, such as to employ
several decades for the development of just a few centimeters (ISPRA, 2014), so
once destroyed or severely degraded will not be possible for future generations see
restored a healthy soil (Commissione Europea, 2012). The land use must be seen as
a phenomenon associated with the loss of a key environmental, due to the occupation
of land originally agricultural, natural or semi-natural and refers to an artificial
increase in the coverage of land, related to settlement dynamics. This is a process
mainly due to the construction of new buildings, sheds and settlements, to the
expansion of cities, densification or conversion of land inside an urban area, to
infrastructure of the territory. The soil consumption must, therefore, be defined as a
change from a not artificial coverage (not consumed soil) to an artificial coverage
(consumed soil). Land use is, in fact, represented by the increasing set of areas
covered by buildings, sheds, paved roads or dirt roads, mining areas, landfills, yards,
patios, yards and other areas paved or dirt, greenhouses and other permanent
coverage, airports and ports, areas and sports fields waterproof, railways and other
infrastructure, photovoltaic panels and all other areas waterproofed, not necessarily
urban. This definition is related, therefore, even to rural and natural areas and
excludes, however, the natural and semi natural areas in urban environment (ISPRA,
2013).
Keywords
Soil sealing, Artificial area, Soil consumption