# Maintenance Respiration Model Accounting for Organ Age or Biomass?

**URL:** <https://fspm.discourse.group/t/maintenance-respiration-model-accounting-for-organ-age-or-biomass/353>\
**Category:** Plant Processes\
**Created:** [February 25, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://fspm.discourse.group/t/maintenance-respiration-model-accounting-for-organ-age-or-biomass/353 "2025-02-25T15:25:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![michele.butturini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@michele.butturini](https://fspm.discourse.group/u/michele.butturini)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://fspm.discourse.group/t/maintenance-respiration-model-accounting-for-organ-age-or-biomass/353/1 "2025-02-25T15:25:11Z")

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Hi everyone,

I am developing an FSPM model of dwarf tomatoes, but I consistently obtain a lower-than-expected yield. After ruling out several factors, I suspect that I might be overestimating maintenance respiration.

Currently, I use maintenance respiration values per organ from Heuvelink’s thesis and apply the temperature correction factor as described there. However, I have come across some references suggesting that maintenance respiration may vary with the age or biomass of an organ.

```auto
		maintenanceDemand = maintenanceRespiration * dry_biomass_structural_mg	* Math.pow(c_q_10_respiration, (AVERAGE_TEMP - 25)/10) ;

```

Does anyone know of a model that accounts for maintenance respiration changes based on organ age, biomass, or similar factors? Any references or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![michele.butturini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@michele.butturini](https://fspm.discourse.group/u/michele.butturini)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://fspm.discourse.group/t/maintenance-respiration-model-accounting-for-organ-age-or-biomass/353/2 "2025-02-25T16:53:32Z")

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problem solved:  
I read carefully Heuvelink thesis and he does account for influence of relative growth rate on maintenance respiration

```auto
		maintenanceDemand = maintenanceRespiration * dry_biomass_structural_mg	* Math.pow(c_q_10_respiration, (AVERAGE_TEMP - 25)/10) * (1 - Math.pow(Math.E, -33*pb[relative_growth_rate_last_5_days])) ;

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rvezy](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/fspm.discourse.group/rvezy/32/3_2.png) [@rvezy](https://fspm.discourse.group/u/rvezy)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://fspm.discourse.group/t/maintenance-respiration-model-accounting-for-organ-age-or-biomass/353/3 "2025-02-26T16:15:35Z")

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Hello Michele, usually, you can expect the overall plant maintenance respiration to be around 50% of the gross primary productivity. So maybe check that you have such values at maturity.

Example implementations:

- XPalm:

> <https://github.com/PalmStudio/XPalm.jl/blob/main/src/plant/respiration/maintenance/Q10.jl>

- DynACof (Eq 6. [DynACof: A process-based model to study growth, yield and ecosystem services of coffee agroforestry systems - ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815219305870#bib17)):

> <https://github.com/VEZY/DynACof.jl/blob/2ec579420c8e940e1f788b57a33664373c0548ee/src/coffee.jl#L29-L49>

Also, you can take inspiration from the following references:

- Ryan (1991): [https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/1941808](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/1941808)

- Dufrêne et al. (2005): [Modelling carbon and water cycles in a beech forest: Part I: Model description and uncertainty analysis on modelled NEE - ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380005000098#bib101)

- de Wit: [https://edepot.wur.nl/167486](https://edepot.wur.nl/167486)

- De Vries (1975): [https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/39/1/77/174352](https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/39/1/77/174352)