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Analyses of surface samples of 84 sites from southern Vancouver Island were used to characterize pollen and spore spectra of modern vegetation types. Xeric Quercus garryana Dougl. and grassland associations can be identified by Quercus pollen and abundant nonarboreal pollen, respectively. Coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forests are distinguished by high proportions of Pseudotsuga and low Pseudotsuga to Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. ratios. Coastal Western Hemlock zone forests have abundant Tsuga heterophylla pollen. Dry Coastal Western Hemlock subzones have diagnostically abundant Pseudotsuga and Tsuga heterophylla pollen, and intermediate Pseudotsuga to Tsuga heterophylla ratios. Moist Coastal Western Hemlock variants are characterised by little or no Pseudotsuga pollen and high Pseudotsuga to Tsuga heterophylla ratios. The Mountain Hemlock zone exhibits abundant Tsuga mertensiana (Bong.) Carr. pollen percentages and notable nonarboreal pollen and spore values. Relatively high Alnus values are not necessarily indicators of dominant alder stands, especially when obtained from open communities. Pseudotsuga to Tsuga heterophylla ratios are useful as a proxy measure of mean annual precipitation between 700 and 2700 mm.Key words: pollen and spores, surface spectra, Vancouver Island, biogeoclimatic zone, vegetation, precipitation.

Sixty-four moss and organic litter samples were collected from five biogeoclimatic zones distributed from sea level on the central coast of British Columbia onto the western edge of the Interior Plateau at 1000 – 1900 m and analyzed for pollen and spores. Four of the five biogeoclimatic zones produced characteristic pollen and spore spectra. The coastal western hemlock biogeoclimatic zone is characterized by Tsuga heterophylla, Alnus, and Cupressaceae. Significant levels of nonarboreal pollen (NAP), mainly Lysichiton and fern spores, occur in some sites. Interior Douglas-fir zone samples are dominated by Pseudotsuga and Tsuga heterophylla with notable Betula, Cupressaceae, and Alnus. Pinus pollen becomes the dominant type at the eastern margins of the interior Douglas-fir zone and dominates the Engelmann spruce – subalpine fir, montane spruce, and sub-boreal pine–spruce biogeoclimatic zones at high and intermediate elevations to the east. In the Engelmann spruce – subalpine fir zone, Abies pollen is characteristically more abundant than Picea, and notable percentages of NAP, especially Artemisia, occur. In the transition from Engelmann spruce – subalpine fir zone to montane spruce zone, Abies and Picea percentages are about equal or Picea predominates slightly, whereas in the montane spruce zone and sub-boreal pine spruce zones, Picea values exceed Abies values often four to five times. Percent pollen and spore versus percent taxon cover diagrams, despite widely spread values, reveal general relationships and background pollen rain values for major taxa valuable to the interpretation of fossil pollen assemblages. Pinus is greatly overrepresented with a regional background of 10–15%. At low to intermediate cover values, Tsuga heterophylla, Pseudotsuga, and Cupressaceae are represented more or less as they occur in the vegetation, with regional backgrounds up to 5%. Picea and Abies are underrepresented, with regional background value of 0–3%. Key words: pollen, surface spectra, biogeoclimatic zones, species cover, British Columbia.

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