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Measurement Of The Respiratory Quotient Of Peat, Jake Nelson

Hydroponics/Soilless Media

Respiratory quotient (RQ) is the ratio of CO₂ produced to O₂ consumed by an organism. Complete respiration of glucose will give an RQ of 1 as described by the formula C_nH_2nO_n+nO₂→nCO₂+nH₂O. The respiration of molecules with lower oxygen content, such as lipids, give RQ values of less than one, whereas in cases of anaerobic metabolism, an increase in biomass or the respiration of substances such as humic, oxalic and citric acids the respiratory quotient can be greater than one. In complex systems such as soil, Dilly …