LIFE Project: Wireless modular sentinel for water percolation, water potential, soil texture, salts, pH, and nutrients at depth, to reduce water and energy use and optimize crop fertilization.

Climate change causes extreme weather fluctuations, resulting in longer periods of drought on the one hand and flooding of waterways on the other. In Europe, while the north is becoming significantly wetter and prone to winter flooding, the Mediterranean and other parts of southern and central Europe are experiencing more frequent heat waves, wildfires, and droughts. This will significantly affect agriculture, which depends on certain temperatures and precipitation levels. At the same time, agriculture accounts for the majority of total freshwater withdrawals in the EU; in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Spain, and southern France, it can reach 80%. Farming choices and climate determine the water footprint of agriculture. Overexploitation of water resources is a threat to both agriculture and the environment. Therefore, crop irrigation is an area where new practices and policies can have a substantial impact on improving water-use efficiency.

Furthermore, agriculture not only impacts water resources in terms of quantity (volumes of water used), but also in terms of quality. That is, agricultural soils can be contaminated by a wide range of applied compounds such as pesticides and fertilizers. There is a tendency to over-irrigate and over-fertilize, "just in case." However, in addition to harming the environment, this is not necessarily good for crops, as they are most productive under a specific range of moisture and nutrient conditions, and excessive irrigation and/or over-fertilization can decrease productivity.