Development of remote monitoring system for soil moisture based on 3S technology alliance

Soil moisture information is an important scientific basis for precision fertilization and irrigation in the modern agriculture. In order to acquire this information rapidly and precisely, a specific design of the remote monitoring system for soil moisture based on 3S (GPS/GIS/GPRS) technology alliance was proposed. This system consisted of the monitoring network nodes and a remote system server. By means of the ZigBee-based wireless sensor networks within a small scale, the GSM/GPRS/GPS networks within a large scale and their mutual communication with the worldwide internet, this system implemented advanced functions such as automatic data acquisition, wireless transmission and nodes orientation. Besides, long-duration solar-powered wireless sensor nodes and sink nodes were designed. The information management software running on the system server was developed for setting remote parameters and monitoring real-time data. This system may play an effective role in soil moisture information monitoring and decision-making analysis.