A Model with Leaf Area Index and Trunk Diameter for LoRaWAN Radio Propagation in Eastern China Mixed Forest

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) is a very promising technology in forest engineering, especially for the environment and plant growth monitoring. LoRa Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) is a prevailing choice for the Forestry IoT owing to its low-power and long-range ability. Real-world deployment and network optimization require accurate path-loss modeling, so the LoRaWAN radio channel in the forest is needed to be intensively studied. However, most of the subsistent propagation models do not involve specific forestry environmental parameters. In this paper, two parameters related with the trees are considered: the leaf area index and the tree trunk diameter. Due to the time-changing characteristics of these two items (from spring to winter), an empirical model has been developed through extensive measurement campaigns: Firstly, the channel measurement platform is designed based on a real scene of mixed forest. Secondly, the fading characteristics of the channel transmission for LoRa nodes are tested, and the corresponding model is presented and evaluated. Lastly, an energy harvesting LoRaWAN is deployed and operated in a sampled forest region of Eastern China for environment monitoring based on our propagation model. The results show that 433 MHz LoRa path loss in the mingled forest could be precisely predicted by our proposed model. Moreover, network coverage and energy consumption optimization of the LoRa nodes could be performed, which enables the perpetual development of reliable forestry evolution monitoring system.