Abstract: In order to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks，this paper presents a routing protocol based on minimum energy consumption tree MECT.It reduces the communication energy consumption in each round by collecting data from a spanning tree.Residual energy of each node is considered during the process of constructing a tree.So，the protocol can guarantee both the reduction of energy consumption and the load balancing.Simulation results show MECT outperforms LEACH and PEGASIS in terms of lifetime and delay.

Key words: wireless sensor networks, minimum spanning tree, residual energy, delay

摘要： 为了延长无线传感器网络的使用寿命，提出一种基于最小能耗树的无线传感器网络路由协议MECT。该协议通过构造一颗生成树来进行数据收集，从而减少了每一轮由于数据传输而消耗的能量。由于在构造树的过程中考虑到节点的剩余能量，该协议在减少能耗的同时保证了负载均衡。实验结果表明，MECT与LEACH和PEGASIS协议相比在生存时间和时间延迟方面都具有更好的性能。

关键词: 无线传感器网络, 最小生成树, 剩余能量, 时延