This study examines modern relationships among salt marsh plant species and their pollen in three salt marshes located on the northwest coast of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. Linear regression analysis of pollen in 35 surface sediment samples and vegetation cover on small (<15 m) and broad (>15 m) scales show that, with the exception of Poaceae and Cheno Am, pollen corresponds well with fine-scale patterns of salt marsh vegetation. Scatter diagrams of paired pollen and cover data illustrate that cover of Triglochin is over-represented by its pollen, Glaux is under-represented, and Poaceae, Cheno Am, and Plantago are inconsistent. Tidal mixing and differential inputs from local, regional, and extra-regional sources with elevation limit the establishment of plant-pollen relationships for Cheno Am and Poaceae but not for other taxa. Comparison of 35 modern analogs from five vegetation zones using squared chord distance show that zones are distinct such that the marsh-terrestrial interface can be tracked with the greatest degree of certainty in a salt marsh paleo-ecological record and other marsh zones can be tracked when a conservative threshold of dissimilarity is used.

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