| Abstract Scope |
High spatial density monitoring of the environment is essential for improving the understanding and management of natural systems. This is particularly important in soils, where sensing can enable optimization of agricultural inputs, improved crop yields, increased carbon storage, and enhanced soil health. Print-based manufacturing of electronic systems enables the fabrication of large numbers of unconventional devices that utilize a wide range of materials compatible with natural environments, enabling the capture of useful, high-density information in these environments. This talk will describe recent progress in our lab on printed electronic devices and systems for real-time monitoring of soil and plant conditions, focusing on two sensor types. A microbial activity sensor that utilizes biodegradable materials to monitor the decomposition activity of soil, and an ion-selective organic electrochemical transistor for evaluating nutrient concentrations that can be used in growth media and plant sap, as well as directly within plant tissue. |