Book excerpt: The natural environment is complex and changes continuously at varying paces. Many, like the weather, we notice from day to day. However, patterns and rhythms examined over time give us the bigger picture. These weather statistics become climate and help us build an understanding of the patterns of change over the long term. Real-Time Environmental Monitoring: Sensors and Systems introduces the fundamentals of environmental monitoring, based on electronic sensors, instruments, and systems that allow real-time and long-term data acquisition, data-logging, and telemetry. The book details state-of-the-art technology, using a practical approach, and includes applications to many environmental and ecological systems. In the first part of the book, the author develops a story of how starting with sensors, you can progressively build more complex instruments, leading to entire systems that end with databases and web servers. In the second part, he covers a variety of sensors and systems employed to measure environmental variables in air, water, soils, vegetation canopies, and wildlife observation and tracking. This is an emerging area that is very important to some aspects of environmental assessment and compliance monitoring. Real-time monitoring approaches can facilitate the cost effective collection of data over time and, to some extent, negate the need for sample, collection, handling, and transport to a laboratory, either on-site or off-site. It provides the tools you need to develop, employ, and maintain environmental monitors.