Build-It-Yourself: Low-Cost Systems for Field Ecophysiology
An Open Handbook for DIY Environmental Measurement Systems
Mathias Hoffmann 
Wael Al Hamwi
Adrian Dahlmann
Maren Dubbert
John Marshall
Michael Asante
Geoffrey Sossa
1 Preface
This handbook is part of the MonksHillLab initiative (integral part of the Working Group Ecophysiology of Water and Matter Cycling of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research) which aims to democratize science by enabling low-cost, DIY sensor development for environmental monitoring. It provides step-by-step guidance on building and calibrating sensor systems using open hardware and widely available components.
The project supports ecophysiological research and the discovery of sustainable agricultural management practices, particularly in under-resourced regions and the Global South. By focusing on reproducibility, accessibility, and practical application, it seeks to close the gap between research/development and field implementation/adoption.
This is a living document: users are encouraged to build upon the existing designs, share adaptations, and contribute new chapters. See the dedicated Contributing chapter and Section 1.2 section for practical guidance on writing in Quarto, using pull requests, and understanding publication and release workflows. Future versions will include additional low-cost DIY systems and their integration with the MonksHillLab Logger App. Thus, together, we aim to grow with that handbook a practical, evolving resource for scientists, students, and practitioners.
We are currently exploring the idea of organizing a low-cost sensor summer school and/or online workshop to provide hands-on training, exchange ideas, and build a global community around DIY environmental monitoring. If you are interested in participating or helping shape the format, feel free to get in touch or respond to the feedback link
1.1 Structure of the handbook
This handbook provides open-source, low-cost designs for field-based ecophysiological measurement systems in agricultural research. It is intended to support researchers, practitioners, and students in building and deploying affordable monitoring tools that can be adapted to a wide range of field conditions. To provide structure and clarity, the handbook is organized around three key domains of ecophysiological monitoring: (1) environmental variables (e.g., air temperature, humidity, radiation, soil moisture), (2) plant health and development (e.g., leaf temperature, chlorophyll status, canopy reflectance), and (3) biogeochemical cycles (e.g., evapotranspiration (ET), CO2 and CH4 fluxes, nutrient dynamics). These categories reflect increasing system complexity, from relatively simple measurements of ambient conditions to more integrated assessments of ecosystem processes. Each chapter follows the same practical structure, covering use cases, required materials, wiring diagrams, step-by-step assembly, calibration, and code, making it easy to adapt and implement these systems regardless of technical background.
1.2 Contributing
Contributions are very welcome. Please use the dedicated Contributing chapter for a beginner-friendly guide to Quarto authoring, pull requests, GitHub Pages publishing, and Zenodo-backed releases. If you need help deciding whether a contribution is a good fit, you can still contact the author at mathias.hoffmann@zalf.de.
1.3 Whats New?
Version 2.1 introduces the EVE-Offline and EVE-Online worklfows including a backend infrastructure and dashboard setup for real-time data transfer and visualization (EVE-Online). In addtion Section 5.4 was added, now contiang supporting data (starting with data for the PAR sensor validation as well as the proof of concept of EVE-Offline and EVE-Online).
1.4 Whats Next?
Version 2.2 will add a new chapter presenting a low cost system for flush-sampling of chamber headspace air for lateron analyses at a GCMS, as well as the introduction of a new regional hub located in Germany.
1.5 Citation
This handbook is available under a CC-BY 4.0 licence.
Please cite the handbook through the project’s Zenodo archive using DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15562591. This DOI represents all versions, and will always resolve to the latest one.
The citation will look something like:
Hoffmann, M. (2025). Build-It-Yourself: Low-Cost Systems for Field Ecophysiology An Open Handbook for DIY Environmental Measurement Systems (2.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15562591.
Please visit the Zenodo archive DOI link to get the most recent version - the one above is not automatically generated and may be out of date if we release an updated version.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.