Silicon Valley startup ePlant aims to install thousands of TreeTags across urban landscapes, orchards, vineyards and forests imperiled by climate change.
Photographer: Michaela Vatcheva/BloombergTrees Are Stressed. Now They Can Tell Us Why
TreeTag sensors, developed by startup ePlant, can give homeowners, farmers and forestry managers early warning when trees are water stressed or in danger.
Over the past several weeks, the majestic California buckeye tree that shades my backyard has been sharing intimate details about its inner life — how much it grows each day, its drinking habits and whether it’s at risk of falling down.
Those insights are being generated by a slim device attached to the buckeye’s bark. Called a TreeTag, it’s about the size of a small television remote and features a suite of sensors, a solar panel and a wireless radio that transmits data to my phone via the cloud. Silicon Valley startup ePlant aims to install thousands of TreeTags across urban landscapes, orchards, vineyards and forests imperiled by climate change. The goal: to create an internet of trees that improves our understanding of rising temperatures’ arboreal impacts.