Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks for Observation of Ecosystem Processes 

National Science Foundation

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Ecosystem functioning

Progress in an array of technologies, including microelectronic sensing and computation, wireless communication, and the self-assembly of autonomous devices into cooperative networks has inspired the vision of wireless sensor networks. While networks of intelligent agents transparently embedded into our physical environment could advance human welfare in a number of domains, research indicates that any successful wireless sensor network must be carefully optimized for its application. One of the most compelling of these applications is dense spatio-temporal sensing of environments to enable better understanding of environmental and ecosystem processes across multiple scales. Our goals are to (i) test this hypothesis in three rigorous field studies, (ii) bootstrap the application of wireless sensor network technology in many applications, and (iii) build awareness of the benefits of the technology to society, and improve collaboration between engineering and the sciences. The project aims to understand the role of fine-scale environmental phenomena in the maintenance of ecosystem diversity in two Eastern US forests.

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