Effects of flooding on the amino acid and carbohydrate patterns of Phragmites australis

Changes in the contents and composition of dissolved amino acids and carbohydrates were monitored in different Phragmites australis stands in Germany. Four different reed clones planted in 1997 in a degraded fen area in NE-Germany were compared with respect to the seasonal development in the total amount of amino acids and sugars in the basal culm internodes. The individual Phragmites clones showed significant differences in the absolute content of both parameters indicating an influence of the genotype. Flooding affected the ratio of amino acids to carbohydrates within the reed clones. Plants grown in flooded parts of the fen area revealed a significantly higher total amino acid content together with a lower total content of carbohydrates. Furthermore, the effects of extreme flooding on the content and composition of amino acids and carbohydrates in the basal culm internodes of Phragmites australis were studied in nine reed stands with different degrees of damage on Lake Constance. Shoots from extremely damaged reed stands were characterised by a significant decrease in the total content of carbohydrates, an increase in the total content of amino acids and an increase in the share of 7 aminobutyric acid. These changes in the content and composition of carbohydrates and amino acids were discussed with respect to their value as stress indicators, such as for oxygen deprivation which causes a hypoxic metabolic state in Phragmites australis stands.