Smart Lysimeter with Crop and Environment Monitoring

Abstract

A model of a smart lysimeter, adopting an IoT approach, enhanced with pest and crop state analysis is presented. Besides the measurement of the traditional evaporation-transpiration balance, the lysimeter senses additional parameters like the soil temperature and humidity at different depths; air temperature and humidity; sunlight exposition (visible and infrared). Additionally, the system can capture high-resolution images of the target culture. These images are locally processed for data reduction and the main features are stored in a remote platform afterwards. The main goal is the monitoring and enhancement of the global crop yield. This lysimeter also provides data for a global water resources system that integrates information from several sources: lysimeters, weather stations, water quality monitoring systems, etc..