User:Jamthorx/Maintenance respiration

Maintenance respiration in plants refers to the carbon dioxide released (or oxygen consumed) during the generation of usable energy and metabolic intermediates used for (i) resynthesis of compounds that undergo renewal in the normal process of metabolism (examples are enzymatic proteins, ribonucleic acids, and mambrane lipids); (ii) maintenance of chemical gradients of ions and metabolites across membranes that are necessary for cellular integrity and plant health; and (iii) operation of metabolic processes involved in physiological adjustment (i.e., acclimation) to a change in the plant's environment. The metabolic costs of the repair of injury from biotic or abiotic stress may also be considered a part of maintenance respiration.

Maintenance respiration is a key component of most mathematical models of plant physiology and growth, including models of crop growth and yield and models of ecosystem primary production and carbon balance.