The Western Greece Soil Information System (WΕSIS)—A Soil Health Design Supported by the Internet of Things, Soil Databases, and Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Western Greece

Abstract

Soil quality is vital for ecosystem stability, impacting human, plant, and animal health. Traditional soil quality assessments are labor-intensive and costly, making them unsuitable for smart agriculture. To overcome this, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are employed for sustainable agriculture, enabling real-time data collection and analysis, trend identification, and soil health optimization. The Western Greece Soil Information System (WΕSIS) offers open-access data and services for soil health and sustainability. It includes modules for soil quality indicators, sustainable fertilization management zones, soil property distribution, prediction, mapping, statistical analysis, water management, land use maps, digital soil mapping, and crop health calculation. Integrating the IoT and AI allows for real-time and remote monitoring of soil conditions, managing soil interventions adaptively and in a data-driven way, enhancing soil resources’ efficiency and sustainability, and increasing crop yield and quality. AI algorithms assist farmers and regional stakeholders in optimizing production lines, methodologies, and field practices, reducing costs and increasing profitability. This promotes a circular economy, a soil- and climate-resilient future, biodiversity protection targets, and enhanced soil fertility and productivity. The proposed IoT/AI technical architecture can underpin the development of soil health monitoring platforms, integrating data from various sources, automating data collection, and providing decision support tools.