"Sensor-supported urban green maintenance" measure

Urban greenery is crucial for the climate, ecology and quality of life in the city. However, climate change and the increasing densification and sealing of surfaces are making it more and more difficult to preserve existing greenery and at the same time develop it in a resource-saving manner. Drought and hot spells are increasingly affecting urban flora and traditional irrigation methods based on blanket watering are often reaching their limits. Digital technologies should therefore help to improve the situation in the long term.

Establishment of a city-wide sensor network for soil moisture measurement

Zu sehen ist das Einsetzen von Sensoren in den Boden.

Einsetzen von Sensoren


Stadt Jena

Sensors for measuring soil moisture will be installed at different depths at selected tree locations. The sensor data should provide information about the actual water content and its progression over time in the soil and thus ultimately make it possible to estimate the actual water requirements of the trees at the respective location. As not every tree can be fitted with sensors, reference areas are created to group similar tree locations together. Up to three sensors are then installed at different depths in each reference area. The sensors are LoRaWAN sensors that transmit their data wirelessly via the city's comprehensive LoRaWAN network.

Utilization of the sensor data for urban green maintenance & the public

The data obtained on soil moisture is first stored in the city's existing databases and then retrieved and visualized via the city's urban data platform. The aim is to process the data in such a way that urban green maintenance can adapt its watering cycles as required, thus saving water and watering time or routes in the long term. Urban greenery is a joint task, which is why the sensor data should also be made available to the public, e.g. as a traffic light system in a map based on the municipal tree register.

Current status
  • Start: 17.12.2021
  • End: 31.08.2027
  • Status: in implementation
Milestones achieved
  • various test sensors have been put into operation, the data can be retrieved and visualized on an interim basis
  • after the test phase, the sensor type for the application is defined
  • a local LoRaWAN network for the sensors has been set up and is constantly being expanded
  • an external network server that manages the sensor data has been set up
  • reference areas and sensor locations have been defined for an initial district
  • 15 sensor locations, each with 2 measurement depths, have been set up
  • the integration of the sensor data on the urban data platform (UDP) has been commissioned, as has the creation of a dashboard