Sediment samples from four reservoirs of different trophic state were compared with regard to chemical gradients in the pore water, composition of microbial communities and extracellular enzyme activities. The trophic state was clearly reflected by steep vertical concentration gradients of ammonium and alkalinity in the pore water. A high concentration of these parameters indicated a high microbial in situ activity in the more eutrophic reservoirs. However, the total number of bacteria in sediments seemed hardly to be influenced by the trophic conditions in the water column. Differences in the microbial composition of the sediments became evident by comparative 16S rDNA analysis of extracted DNA and by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Although a high proportion of the cells detectable with the EUB probe could not be identified at the subdomain level, members of the beta-Proteobacteria constituted an important fraction in the sediments of the more eutrophic reservoirs, whereas gamma-subgroup Proteobacteria were most frequently detected in sediment samples from the dystrophic Muldenberg reservoir. The assessment of extracellular enzyme activities (esterases, phosphatases, glucosidases and aminopeptidases, respectively) in sediment samples of the four reservoirs revealed specific patterns of metabolic potentials in accordance with the trophic state and characteristics of the catchment.