A New Low-Cost Sensing System for Rapid Ring Estimation of Woody Plants to Support Tree Management

Abstract

Continuous monitoring of the diameter and rings of woody plants is required to evaluate agroforestry products such as timber. Manual measurement is still widely used to monitor tree growth but it is time-consuming. In addition, advanced equipment and software are available but they require technical skills and are costly for smallholders. However, we have developed a rapid and low-cost sensing system for estimating the diameters of woody plants. The apparatus includes a sensor and Internet of things (IoT) technology, which can be used under any network conditions. The apparatus was tested with various trees and the results were compared with those obtained by manual measurement. The findings using the newly developed system demonstrate a strong correlation (R2 = 0.99) with the manually performed measurements. This rapid and low-cost diameter sensing system will be useful in the expansion of agroforestry sensing networks and beneficial to smallholders. Hence, the system will assist in informing foresters of potential problems in timely manner.