Caption title. At head of title: Project summary. "Feb. 1983." Distributed to depository libraries in microfiche. "EPA/600-S3-82-037."

This research compares six vegetative methods for determining West Coast coastal salt marsh boundaries. A common data set consisting of 22 transects from 13 Oregon and Washington coastal salt marshes is used in the evaluation. Multiple occurrence. joint occurrence, and the 5% technique require prior plant classification into salt marsh, upland, and nonindicator species; cluster analysis and the similarity indices require no initial classification. Close agreement between the methods suggests that plant pre-classification and cover value determinations may be unnecessary to develop vegetative boundary locations. Examples of each method as applied to specific coastal salt marsh data are presented. Also included is an upland/wetland plant indicator classification list derived from a consensus of several West Coast plant specialists.