Internet of things (IoT) solution provider for environmental applications, ICT International, is leveraging Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard to help improve urban forest management and carbon accounting.
According to ICT International, its range of plant physiology devices are able to monitor the health of urban forests in real time via a LoRaWAN network.
Carbon capture
The products can measure plant water use (sap flow), soil moisture and vapour pressure deficit, and identify periods of low soil moisture and high plant water stress. Addressing these factors quickly can help trees remain healthy, providing valuable ecosystem services to the community as well as measurable carbon capture.
“The urban forest provides valuable eco services such as carbon sequestration through photosynthesis and cooling through shade and evapotranspiration. However, to perform these valuable functions the tree must be healthy,” said Dr. Peter Cull, managing director at ICT International.
“The urban forest represents overwhelmingly the only interaction with nature that many of the world’s population have on a day-to-day basis. With increasing urbanisation of the population, the shift to urban living and appreciation of the green spaces that exist within those areas, the value placed on the urban forest is increasing.”
The key devices in the collaboration included the SFM1L Sap Flow Meter and the PSY1 Stem Psychrometer which ICT International has deployed throughout cities in New South Wales, Australia to identify the ongoing water requirements of the urban forest.
Through using LoRaWAN, the company reports the devices are capable of continuously measuring plant water use (SFM1L) and plant water stress (PSY1), while transmitting the data to the decision maker.
“ICT International’s utilisation of LoRaWAN for its sensors is a great example of how low power, wide area networks can ultimately create a smart city and a better and healthier planet for all,” added Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT strategy and products for Semtech’s wireless and sensing products group.
“The real-time monitoring enabled by the LoRaWAN connectivity is providing actionable data to the forest’s surrounding city water allocation and irrigation departments to make decisions on maintaining the health of the urban forest.”
Semtech’s LoRa device-to-cloud platform is a globally adopted long range, low power solution for IoT applications, enabling the rapid development and deployment of ultra-low power, cost efficient and long range IoT networks, gateways, sensors, module products, and IoT services worldwide.
ICT International is focused on the measurement of plant and environmental parameters. With a range of LoRaWAN devices, ICT International combines sensing technologies with IoT connectivity, ensuring the collection of high quality data for monitoring and management decision-making.
Source: smartcitiesworld.net
Source: IOT NETWORK NEWS
