.
In recent years, the application of urban agriculture has risen dramatically and is at a climax. Not only have municipalities taken an active role on that matter, but also much domestic cultivation is apparent in urban areas. At the same time the urban ecosystem is being weakened by excessive heavy metal loadings in the environment, resulting from the continuous production and use of industrial commodities. The concentration of heavy metals in plant tissue largely depends on the soil-plant transfer. Our aim is to investigate the interaction between soil and edible plants with respect to heavy metal concentrations in Athens. Preliminary data have been collected on Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co, Mn, Fe, Ba, Pb and Cd in vegetables from urban allotments in Athens, and compared to the pseudototal and mobilizable concentrations of the same elements in the rhizosphere soil of the collected plants.