Technosol

A Technosol in the FAO World Reference Base for Soil Resources is a soil classification category of soil that combines soils whose properties and pedogenesis are dominated by their technical origin. They contain either a significant amount of artefacts (something in the soil recognizably made or extracted from the earth by humans), some sort of geotechnical liner, or are sealed by technic hard rock (hard material created by humans, having properties unlike natural rock). They include soils from wastes (landfills, sludge, cinders, mine spoils and ashes), pavements with their underlying unconsolidated materials, soils with geomembranes and constructed soils in human-made materials. However, Technosols can also refer to a situation in which normal soil, such as a Chernozem, has been moved to a new location to act as a fill. If this fill is less than 50 cm, then the soil is called a Technosol. If fill material is greater than 50 cm deep, then the fill is designated by the original soil used to create the fill, in our example, a Chernozem. Technosols are often referred to as urban or mine soils. They are recognized in the new Russian soil classification system as Technogenic Superficial Formations.