A Low-Cost Monitoring System for Soil Temperature, Atmospheric Conditions, and Surface Runoff for Agricultural Applications

Abstract

The growing impact of global warming on soil fertility, water resources, and agricultural productivity has increased the demand for reliable, real-time environmental monitoring solutions. This study presents the development of a climate data measurement and recording system. The THW Data Logger is designed for continuous monitoring of soil temperature, atmospheric conditions, and surface water dynamics. The system integrates soil temperature sensors, an atmospheric sensor for air temperature and humidity, and load cells for runoff and infiltration monitoring. All measurement components are housed within a waterproof enclosure. To facilitate system deployment in rural environments, two power supply methods have been incorporated into the measurement and monitoring system. Laboratory experiments were conducted to verify its accuracy, confirming its ability to capture soil temperature gradients and infiltration dynamics with high temporal resolution. The system demonstrated excellent measurement precision and was assembled at a significantly lower cost compared to commercially available alternatives. The performance exhibited by this system enables experimental studies that are of interest to researchers for validating their research investigations.