Louche H. auteur aut IRD Penarier A. auteur aut IRD Nouvel P. auteur aut IRD Clair B. auteur aut IRD Coillot C. auteur aut IRD Do Frédéric auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Xylem sap flow measurement is a key method to quantify plant water use and assess the responses to environmental conditions and climatic change. However, available methods are generally invasive and of limited portability. This paper presents a non-invasive approach called TIMFLOW that combines microwave heat pulse and infrared thermography, while having a high portability and versatility potential. The methodology was tested in laboratory conditions for black poplar (Populus nigra) stems of various diameters (10-45 mm) and for the known sap flow velocity range (10-100 cm h-1). The heat pulse was generated by microwaves with a power amplifier supplying a bi-quad antenna at 2.45 GHz frequency located near the stem. The scene was filmed using a relatively low-cost light and compact InfraRed (IR) thermography camera. A stem temperature map was used to determine the heat pulse propagation velocity. The calculated heat velocity was highly correlated with the applied flow velocity with a unique relationship regardless of the diameter. The latter result confirms the equation of Marshall (1958) which links the sap velocity to the heat velocity with a vessel fraction of around 25 % within samples. The feasibility of outdoor measurements was also successfully tested. The assumed potentials and limitations of the proposed methodology are discussed. In summary, the study demonstrates the concept and validates, in woody stems, this new methodology for non-invasive portable sap flow velocity measurement. specialized Microwave self-heating Infrared camera Heat wave Contactless method Water use 076 020 021 347 109896 [9 ] 2024 0168-1923 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010089662 10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.109896 0168-1923 [F B010089662] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010089662 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2024-05/010089662.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2024-05-22 2026-06-12 fdi:010089662 fre