Tablet-based field data collection system for carbon monitoring

To increase the efficiency of data collection and management, station scientists developed an iPad®-based field data collection system and are testing it on 300 plots distributed throughout the United States. The data collected on field plots is uploaded (wirelessly) to a server and the main plot database is updated on a daily basis, allowing for data quality checking and feedback to crews on a near real-time basis.

Use

The products developed from this study could help to inform and improve the efficiency of larger field data collection programs, such as Forest Inventory and Analysis, in the future. Although there will be challenges to implementing this system on a large scale, the benefits of managing data “in the cloud” (including near-real-time quality assessment) could increase the quality and timeliness of inventory database delivery in the future. This system is currently used only in a research setting, but it may provide insights into how tablet devices and cloud storage can be used to increase the efficiency of both research and production inventory applications.

Partners: Cirrus North, Inc., University of Washington.