Abstract
In order to study the groundwater subsidy from different cropping systems, leaching monitoring in Taiwan started in 2008 and implemented agricultural long-term ecological research (LTER) stations. Initially, leaching data was received by lysimeters, and then collected manually by laborers in the field twice per month. The cost of data collection and transmission is high, real-time monitoring is not possible, and maintenance of instruments is inefficient. In this study, the goal is to develop a data transmission path. ICT (Information and Communication Technology) with different data transmission schemes was applied to improve the efficiency and immediacy of data transfer from the field to the databases in labs. Between 2010 and 2017, four versions of ICT have been developed and applied in LTER stations. WiFi, 2.5G (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS), 3G/4G network transmission, and Arduino cores are applied in different ICT versions. The first version of data transmission used data loggers, developed by the original factory, with a lower cost of renovation of instruments. However, complicated transmission paths, diverse instruments, poor weather resistance, and lack of wireless functionality are the limitations of the first version. Those limitations had been overcome by the second and third versions by using 2.5G (GPRS) and 3G/4G network transmission, respectively. Nevertheless, these versions are limited to the processes of data compression and encryption transmission which were developed by the system vendors. In addition, data can only be collected through the webpage provided by the vendors, instead of being received directly from the database using SQL (Structured Query Language). This is inappropriate for advanced data treatment, organization, and analysis. Finally, the fourth version of data transmission has been developed using Arduino. This system allows redesigning of the data loggers and transmission instrument with more feasibility and flexibility. Radio Frequency (Radio frequency, RF) has been imported into the transmission path to receive data from diverse instruments with fewer data loggers. In conclusion, ICT technological advancement with its advantages of reasonable cost and high flexibility and feasibility, Arduino and other open source operation systems can be used to develop the data loggers and related instruments to meet the needs of users. Therefore, ICT is the most appropriate strategy to develop the long-term monitoring system in the field and to apply to other environment monitoring systems.
Highlights
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is technology for data collection and digitization through instruments and sensors that transfer data to storage devices
In order to apply this study in the field with the appropriate agricultural management with minimum input, subtropical agricultural long-term ecological research (LTER) stations were targeted
In 2010, the first version of ICT data transmission had been developed for leaching monitoring in Taiwanese agriculture LTER stations, including Yuin-Lin branch station, Chi-Ko branch farm, and Chia-Yi Branch Litchi Orchard
Summary
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is technology for data collection and digitization through instruments and sensors that transfer data to storage devices. Digital information is transmitted through a variety of communication technologies, including wired and wireless, to the endpoint. Environments 2017, 4, 47 technologies are replacing their wired counterparts [1]. Wireless communications, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G communication, are currently the mainstream choices used to reduce the consumptions of long-term maintenance. Endpoints such as data loggers, databases, and cloud storage are used to receive information from sensors and store it for a long time.
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