The application of the Internet of Things in environmental management
Subject Areas : environmental managementmaria ghahremani 1 , fatemeh karami 2
1 - MSc in Electronic Commerce, Information Technology Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - MSc in Environmental Engineering, Assessment and Land Planning, Payam-e-Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT), environment, environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, green IoT.,
Abstract :
Background and Objective: The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging concept in the world of technology and communications. In brief, it is a modern technology that enables any entity—whether human, animal, or object—to transmit data through communication networks, thereby transforming physical objects into intelligent ones through sensors, communication networks, and internet-based applications. As a new technological paradigm, IoT facilitates large-scale connectivity and data exchange among physical objects, humans, and computer systems. In recent years, this technology has increasingly attracted attention as a response to environmental challenges such as air and water pollution, water scarcity, and the need for sustainable agriculture. The objective of this paper is to conceptualize IoT and review its applications in environmental monitoring and management, with a focus on areas such as air quality, water quality, agriculture, and smart cities. This study reviews a collection of selected scholarly sources and examines examples of IoT-based systems, including wireless sensor networks, smart irrigation systems, smart grids, and precision agriculture projects.
Methods: This research follows a review-based approach that synthesizes previous studies. First, texts and articles related to IoT in various environmental domains were collected. Then, these sources were categorized based on their applications and the technologies employed, and their findings were compared and analyzed.
Findings: The results indicate that employing IoT can contribute to real-time monitoring of environmental parameters, reduction in resource consumption (particularly water and energy), and improved management decisions at local and urban levels. However, challenges such as data security, standardization, and device energy consumption remain significant concerns.
Conclusion: Overall, the findings suggest that IoT—if developed in line with green IoT principles and combined with technologies such as edge computing and artificial intelligence—can serve as an effective tool for achieving sustainable environmental management.
[1] Machado K, Rosario D, Cerqueira E, et al. A routing protocol based on energy and link quality for Internet of Things applications. 2013; 1942‑64.
[2] Baccelli E, Bartl G, Danilkina A, et al. Area and perimeter surveillance in SAFEST using sensors and the Internet of Things. 2014.
[3] Gubbi J, Buyya R, Marusic S, Palaniswami M. Internet of Things (IoT): A vision, architectural elements, and future directions. Future Gener Comput Syst. 2013; 29(7): 1645‑60.
[4] Corchado JM, Bajo J, De Paz Y, Tapia DI. Intelligent environment for monitoring Alzheimer patients: Agent technology for health care. Decis Support Syst. 2008; 44: 382‑96.
[5] Estrada‑Martinez PE, Garcia‑Macias JA. Semantic interactions in the Internet of Things. Int J Ad Hoc Ubiquitous Comput. 2012; 9(3‑4):139‑49.
[6] Barnaghi P, Cousin PH, Malatras A, Serrano M, Viho C. Simpler IoT world(s) of tomorrow, more interoperability challenges to cope today. River Publishers; 2013.
[7] Gurbanova L, Abdullayev V. Application of IoT and sensor technologies in environmental monitoring. Environ Res Ecotoxicol. 2025; 4:170‑80.
[8] Rao PV, Khan SA, Paul S, Mitra SP, Deb D, Chaudhuri AK, et al. IoT‑enabled environmental monitoring systems: Trends, challenges and future directions. Int J Res Appl Sci Eng Technol. 2025;11(17 Suppl):1‑8.
[9] Memos V, et al. Green Internet of Things (GIoT): Vision, applications and research challenges. Sustain Comput Inform Syst. 2020; 28: 100427. [web:50]
[10] Asadullah MH, Myat A. AI‑powered IoT frameworks for real‑time environmental monitoring and sustainable urban development in smart cities. AIP Conf Proc. 2025; 3327: 020009.
[11] Hernández‑Díaz V, Martínez JF, et al. Semantic as an interoperability enabler in Internet of Things. River Publishers; 2013.
[12] Al‑Fuqaha A, Guizani M, Mohammadi M, Aledhari M, Ayyash M. Internet of Things: A survey on enabling technologies, protocols, and applications. IEEE Commun Surv Tutorials. 2015; 17(4): 2347‑76.
[13] Vögler M, Schleicher J, Inzinger C, Nastic S, Sehic S, Dustdar S. LEONORE: Large‑scale provisioning of resource‑constrained IoT deployments. In: 2015 IEEE Int Conf Pervasive Comput Commun Workshops (PerCom Workshops). 2015 Mar 30–Apr 3.
[14] Borgohain T, Kumar U, Sanyal S. Survey of operating systems for the IoT environment. arXiv Prepr. 2015; arXiv: 1504.07931.
[15] Whitmore A, Agarwal A, Xu LD. The Internet of Things – A survey of topics and trends. Inf Syst Front. 2015; 17(2): 261‑74.
