A novel cloud enabled smart carbon neutral hydroponic setup for stem cutting propagation of tropical tree species

Abstract

Climate change, such as melting ice caps in Antarctica or a rise in sea level, poses a mega threat to our daily lives, worsening living conditions and the quality of our lives in many ways. The main contributor to this climate change is the emission of excessive CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) into the earth’s atmosphere as a result of continuous human activities. Many nations and international organizations have already realized the adverse effects of climate change, emphasizing that decarbonization is the key to reducing climate change. Based on that, in this research, we design a novel, smart, carbon–neutral hydroponic farming setup for stem cutting propagation of tropical tree species to supply plantlets for reforestation and revegetation of degraded forests. The aim is to reduce the effects of climate change, as planting or replanting more trees would help in reducing the existing greenhouse gases, while the trees act as effective natural carbon sinks. We have integrated our hydroponic stem cutting propagation system with the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT) to design an extended cloud-enabled platform for monitoring underlying real-time conditions pertaining to hydroponic systems and evaluating the generation and consumption of solar energy to prove that our setup is carbon–neutral. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind, and we believe this research would contribute to the concerted efforts in overcoming challenges associated with climate change and provide references for future researchers who are keen on developing environmentally friendly and smart solutions.