Sensors 2009, 9(4), 2862-2883; doi:10.3390/s90402862
Article

Wireless in-situ Sensor Network for Agriculture and Water Monitoring on a River Basin Scale in Southern Finland: Evaluation from a Data User’s Perspective

Niina Kotamäki 1,* email, Sirpa Thessler 2 email, Jari Koskiaho 3 email, Asko O. Hannukkala 4 email, Hanna Huitu 2 email, Timo Huttula 1 email, Jukka Havento 2 email and Markku Järvenpää 2 email
1 Finnish Environment Institute, Jyväskylä Office / PO Box 35, FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä / Finland 2 MTT Agrifood Research Finland / Luutnantintie 13, 00410 Helsinki, Finland 3 Finnish Environment Institute / PO Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland 4 MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Plant Protection, R-building, 31600 Jokioinen, Finland
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 4 March 2009; in revised form: 20 April 2009 / Accepted: 21 April 2009 / Published: 21 April 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Workshop Sensing A Changing World)
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Abstract: Sensor networks are increasingly being implemented for environmental monitoring and agriculture to provide spatially accurate and continuous environmental information and (near) real-time applications. These networks provide a large amount of data which poses challenges for ensuring data quality and extracting relevant information. In the present paper we describe a river basin scale wireless sensor network for agriculture and water monitoring. The network, called SoilWeather, is unique and the first of this type in Finland. The performance of the network is assessed from the user and maintainer perspectives, concentrating on data quality, network maintenance and applications. The results showed that the SoilWeather network has been functioning in a relatively reliable way, but also that the maintenance and data quality assurance by automatic algorithms and calibration samples requires a lot of effort, especially in continuous water monitoring over large areas. We see great benefits on sensor networks enabling continuous, real-time monitoring, while data quality control and maintenance efforts highlight the need for tight collaboration between sensor and sensor network owners to decrease costs and increase the quality of the sensor data in large scale applications.
Keywords: Sensor networks; agriculture; environmental monitoring; data quality; network maintenance

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Kotamäki, N.; Thessler, S.; Koskiaho, J.; Hannukkala, A.O.; Huitu, H.; Huttula, T.; Havento, J.; Järvenpää, M. Wireless in-situ Sensor Network for Agriculture and Water Monitoring on a River Basin Scale in Southern Finland: Evaluation from a Data User’s Perspective. Sensors 2009, 9, 2862-2883.

AMA Style

Kotamäki N, Thessler S, Koskiaho J, Hannukkala AO, Huitu H, Huttula T, Havento J, Järvenpää M. Wireless in-situ Sensor Network for Agriculture and Water Monitoring on a River Basin Scale in Southern Finland: Evaluation from a Data User’s Perspective. Sensors. 2009; 9(4):2862-2883.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kotamäki, Niina; Thessler, Sirpa; Koskiaho, Jari; Hannukkala, Asko O.; Huitu, Hanna; Huttula, Timo; Havento, Jukka; Järvenpää, Markku. 2009. "Wireless in-situ Sensor Network for Agriculture and Water Monitoring on a River Basin Scale in Southern Finland: Evaluation from a Data User’s Perspective." Sensors 9, no. 4: 2862-2883.

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