Update to ttprocessing: the R-package to handle the TreeTalker monitoring data

Abstract

Managing forest ecosystems at global scale is a pressing challenge for resource managers and it needs to address important questions on continuous monitoring. Advance in information technology and in the use of multifunctional devices based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, for real time observation of biological and physical variable of trees is getting more and more common in modern forestry. Among the different smart sensor networks, the Tree Talkers® devices are modular multiparameter devices designed to monitor tree physiological parameters (e.g. sap flux, growth) and surrounding microenvironmental parameters (e.g. temperature, humidity). There is a dedicated R package for handling the data produced by this monitoring system: ttprocessing, that has been recently updated, with several improvements in the data processing pipelines, the implementation of the soil water content equations of the TT-soil monitoring device and the inclusion of some basic outlier detection functionalities. In this Technical note, after a summary of the structure of the ttprocessing R package, we describe the new and update version. The updates include: a refinement of the methodology to compute the sap-flux, code for compatibility TT+ devices of version 2.0 and 3.4, that previously were not covered, code for processing the TT-soil data, a device of the Tree Talker system that monitors soil moisture and temperature. Finally, several utility functions have been added: outlier removal and functions for the technical management of the system, thus increasing its usability and making it a more comprehensive tool.