Does ammonium affect accumulation of starch in rhizomes of Phragmites australis (CAV.) TRIN. ex STEUD.?

Reed rhizomes from four habitats differing in soil nitrogen availability were collected and analysed for carbohydrate content during one year. Rhizomes collected from sediments where nitrate was the prevailing form of available nitrogen accumulated predominantly starch. On the other hand, rhizomes buried in sediments rich in ammonium contained predominantly sucrose. These observations together with the fact that ammonium stimulates the activity of enzymes involved in degradation of starch suggest that ammonium affects starch storage by inducing conversion of starch into sucrose. During spring when sprouting takes place, the rates of sucrose or starch mobilization differed remarkably, the sucrose in rhizomes buried in ammonium-rich sediments being depleted much faster than the starch in rhizomes at ammonium-poor habitats. The consequent reduction of total carbohydrate content in rhizomes at ammonium-rich habitats places the plants in a vulnerable situation. Eutrophication and reed decline are postulated to be events causally related via toxicity of ammonium, of which considerable amounts are microbiologically released from decaying organic matter in reed beds under excessive nutrient supply.