TreeTalker Cyber: A Multi-Sensor, Low-Cost IoT Platform for Real-Time Monitoring of Tree Ecophysiology

The Earth is a complex ecosystem and each element is strictly linked with the others. It is often required to collect data on multiple aspects variously related to the main phenomenon in order to understand its mechanism. Moreover, the increasing use of machine learning algorithms requires the creation of new, reliable and extensive dataset in order to obtain significant results. The increasing demand for accurate, real-time monitoring of tree ecophysiological parameters presents challenges in developing affordable and efficient technologies, in particular in difficult environments such as mountains. TreeTalker Cyber, an innovative IoT platform, addresses these needs by integrating multiple sensors into a single, cost-effective device capable of measuring radial growth, radiation intensity below the canopy across 26 spectral bands, sap-flow, microclimate data, and trunk inclination. This presentation explores its capabilities, practical applications, and potential to transform forest monitoring globally. The use of a single platform to collect all the aforementioned parameter greatly reduces the cost of the equipment per collected parameter providing at the same time all main information required to evaluate the status of a tree, improving the maintenance of the network at the same time. The device is equipped with an NB-IoT or LoRaWAN transmission module to transmit collected data and make them available remotely. A comprehensive description of the platform and real field data are presented along with the technologies used for data transmission and storage with their strength and weaknesses. The OGC SensorThings API is also briefly described along with FROST (FRaunhofer Opensource SensorThings-Server) as an alternative to efficiently store IoT data and make them compliant with the FAIR principles, making them usable by both scientific and public communities. The creation of a dataset of trees ecophysiological parameters will help deepening the knowledge and understanding of forests around the world. TreeTalker Cyber lays the groundwork for advancing forestry research, providing fine-scale data as ground truth for forestry models and a starting point for future scenarios predictions, in particular when based on machine learning algorithms.