Environmental Monitoring in VAS connects live soil and climate data from multiple networks, combining sensor readings, rainfall maps, and long-term soil studies to help understand how land and weather interact across regions.

Soil Moisture Probes

The soil-moisture system connects hundreds of underground sensors installed across farms and research sites. Each probe automatically measures moisture and temperature levels at different soil depths and sends the data through secure telemetry networks such as Adcon and Wildeye.

• When the data reaches the system, it’s cleaned, standardised, and stored in CeRDI’s Multi-Provider Probe Collector, built with Laravel and TimescaleDB.

• This technology brings together multiple data feeds into one format, ensuring accurate, real-time updates that can be visualised through interactive tools and dashboards.

Soil Monitoring

The soil-monitoring system compiles long-term soil-health information from regional authorities and research organisations. It includes data from more than 200 monitoring sites across Victoria and South Australia, tracking soil properties such as pH, organic carbon, and nutrient levels.

• For privacy, exact locations are slightly adjusted, but users can still explore trends and compare results over time.

• All information is stored within the CeRDI Observations System, ensuring it follows international data standards and remains accessible and consistent for researchers and land managers

Rainfields

Rainfields is a high-resolution rainfall-mapping system developed with the Bureau of Meteorology. It combines radar imagery and rain-gauge readings to produce rainfall maps at a 500-metre grid resolution.

• These maps are integrated with soil and climate data within VAS, allowing users to see how rainfall patterns relate to soil moisture and landscape conditions almost in real time.

• The technology supports better decision-making for water use, crop management, and drought monitoring.