Abstract Salt marshes are vulnerable to rising sea levels, coastal developments, pollution and disturbance, and at the same time they provide economic, social and environmental benefits. Recently salt marsh re-creation has been undertaken in the interest of both sea defence and nature conservation. The vegetation pattern on these newly created marshes is very different from that found on mature marshes. This suggests that the soil conditions may be limiting normal vegetation development and implies that special techniques will be needed to enhance the processes involved. For pioneer salt marsh to develop a proportion of the sediment load in the water covering the marsh at high tide has to be trapped by salt marsh plants and subsequently incorporated into the marsh substrate. This paper presents the results of recent experimental studies in this area of research and examines various aspects of the key processes involved and the critical implications for salt marsh management and coastal defence
