The microbial respiration quotient as indicator for bioremediation processes

A Stepwise Procedure for Assessment of the Microbial Respiratory Activity of Soil Samples Contaminated with Organic Compounds

“…Palmborg and Nordgren (1993) did not give any hints for the quantitative interpretation of their parameters. From the respiration quotient applied by Hund and Schenk (1994), it is concluded that the soil is biologically active and can be remediated biologically. Nutrient limitations and cumulated respiration were not taken into account in these approaches, although they are of importance if organic contaminants are present in the soil.…”

“…In contrast to Hund and Schenk (1994), they added glucose, (NH ) SO , and KH PO simultaneously for the determination of stimulated respiration. Furthermore, they also recommend considering the lag time after addition of glucose until exponential growth starts and the growth rate constant during exponential growth of stimulated respiration.…”

“…Palmborg and Nordgren (1993) Lag time (h) 11.7 No evaluation procedure available (no threshold value given) Growth rate constant ( ) 7.2 (no threshold value given) Hund and Schenk (1994) Respiration quotient (Q 0 "R /R . ) 1.1 (0.1}0.3) Active micro#ora, indicator for progress of bioremediation ?…”

“…was determined according to the method for the determination of the biomass described by Anderson and Domsch (1978) by adding glucose to a concentration of 1%. It was calculated on the basis of linear oxygen uptake before growth of the microbial population took place (Hund and Schenk, 1994). For the tested soil both R and R .…”

“…E Soil respiration frequently is measured during remediation of contaminated soils: Hund and Schenk (1994) calculated the quotient of the basal and substrate-induced respiration rate and compared it with the polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration of a contaminated site during bioremediation. They found a strong correlation between these values and concluded that the quotient can be used to control the time course of bioremediation processes and to obtain information on the bioavailability of a contaminant.…”