POLLEN FINGERPRINTING IN MODERN SALT MARSH ENVIRONMENTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA: THE SEARCH FOR ANALYTICAL STANDARDS

The three primary salt marsh environments in South Carolina are high marshes, (dominated by Juncus roemerianus), low marshes (dominated by Spartina alterniflora), and salt panne (dominated by Salicornia virginica). The purpose of this research was to attempt to distinguish these environments by use of a palynological fingerprinting technique. Samples of salt marsh surface sediments were collected at 23 sites representing the variety of marsh types present in coastal South Carolina. After processing to extract palynomorphs, the samples were analyzed for types and percentages of taxonomic components. The results of this analysis indicate that all Juncus environments had a distinctive palynomorphic signature, which could be used as an analytical standard to identify Juncus sediments, while no such fingerprint was found for the other two salt marsh types. The Juncus environment was distinguishable from all others by the following parameters: 1) higher quantity of palynomorphs per sample (nearly double the number present in the other types), 2) higher palynomorph diversity (nearly double the taxonomic diversity present in the other types), 3) the presence of a high percentage (over 10 % of the palynomorph count) of Fungal Spore Type A, and 4) the presence of Atrotorquata lineata, a fungal type that was found solely in sediments beneath Juncus marshes. Locating the positions of Juncus environments in cores should allow one to trace the rise and fall of sea level over time.