Using Low-Cost Sensors to Quantify the Impacts of Forest Maturity on Microclimate and Air Quality

Abstract

Atlanta, Georgia, USA is known as the “City in a Forest”, with nearly half of the urban landscape covered in trees. These trees serve critical environmental roles, including landscape cooling and air cleaning. However, not all trees are equal; the maturity and surroundings of a tree impact its “environmental value.” This relationship has not been studied extensively; therefore, to address this gap, we begin a microclimate and pollution sensing project, deploying six low-cost wireless air quality sensors at key areas of ecological interest in the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve in southeast Atlanta. We plan to analyze the resulting data to identify patterns between the maturity of a section of forest and the level of air pollution observed. Our sensors measure SO2, NO2, CO, O3, and Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), and readings will be calibrated against industry-standard technologies employed by the EPA. In this paper, we offer initial analysis of data during the South Georgia wildfires event of late April, as well as future work.