An underground, wireless, open-source, low-cost system for monitoring oxygen, temperature, and soil moisture

The use of wireless sensor networks to measure soilparameters eliminates the need to remove sensors for field operations, suchas tillage, thus allowing long-term measurements without multipledisturbances to soil structure. Wireless sensors also reduce above-ground cables and the risk of undesired equipment damage and potential data loss.However, implementing wireless sensor networks in field studies usuallyrequires advanced and costly engineering knowledge. This study presents anew underground, wireless, open-source, low-cost system for monitoring soiloxygen, temperature, and soil moisture. The process of system design,assembly, programming, deployment, and power management is presented. Thesystem can be left underground for several years without the need to change the battery. Emphasis was given on modularity so that it can beeasily duplicated or changed if needed and deployed without previous engineering knowledge. Data from this type of system have a wide range ofapplications, including precision agriculture and high-resolution modelling.