From Sep 1982 to May 1983, the meiofauna in sheltered upper intertidal and supratidal habitats on Sylt island was quantitatively studied. Four sites were sampled in monthly intervals: two accretion sites (one vegetated and the other bare), and two salt marsh sites (one grazed and the other ungrazed). In the supratidal salt marshes, abundance of most taxa followed soil moisture with low abundance during the dry summer months and high abundance in winter and spring with high precipitation and frequent floodings by the sea. In the accretion zones seasonality was weak, presumably as a result of the addition of the winter/spring maxima in the landward salt marshes, and the summer/autum maximum in the seaward flats.