Towards FAIR IoT forest data: from static delivery to a continuous and interoperable data infrastructure
Ongoing climate change increases the need for continuous availability of forest monitoring data. Within the Open-Earth-Monitor project, Task 4.7 “Preparation of in-situ data obtained from automated ground observation networks”, we delivered a static dataset containing measurements acquired by IoT sensors installed on trees for forest monitoring purposes. This dataset was provided as a one-off batch release and, in a similar setup, any newly available data would have required manual updates.
The approach we present here represents an evolution of that initial workflow. In the new framework, data from IoT sensors are made available through an open data infrastructure, enabling near-real time access to field measurements and improving their interoperability and reusability.
By adopting a standardized model for sensors, observations, locations and related entities, the framework supports the harmonization of heterogeneous measurements and their integration into broader Earth Observation workflows. In-situ data can therefore be more easily shared, queried and linked to remote sensing products and analytics pipelines.
The data infrastructure, being developed within the Horizon Europe RemoTrees project, is based on the OGC SensorThings API (STA) data model and uses the FROST Server implementation developed by the Fraunhofer Institute. STA provides a RESTful, standardized and machine-readable interface for accessing observations and related metadata, thus facilitating interoperable data exchange across systems and providing high-quality in-situ data to Cal/Val communities such as Copernicus in-situ components.
The infrastructure is designed to provide multiple access channels to data in order to address different user profiles, including direct programmatic access to query and download raw and aggregated data, an expert dashboard for geospatial exploration, interactive time-series visualization and alert management, and thematic dashboards to expose indicators and derived products tailored to specific operational and decision-making needs. Together, these components are meant to translate the continuous availability of in-situ measurements into actionable information for both scientific and operational use.
