In coastal wetlands carbon/organic matter can be stored for long periods of time thanks to, among other things, the presence of water which slows down the decomposition. Because of this, restauration and management of such habitats have the potential to decrease the emission of greenhouse gasses and help mitigate climate. Internationally these environments are called ?blue carbon? ecosystems. In Sweden, alder (Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incanata) covered wetlands along the coast is a nature type that potentially could function as a ?blue carbon? habitat.

Coastal sediments are important carbon sinks, storing organic matter and thereby helping to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, they can also act as carbon sources if the deposited organic matter decomposes rapidly, contributing to increased greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Rapid decomposition partly depends on the degradability of the material itself. In this literature review, I examine which coastal plant species dominate different locations along the Swedish coast, based on coverage data from the ClimScape project (www.climscape.se). For the most dominant species, I investigated the type of organic matter they may contribute to the sediments and based on those results I qualitatively assessed which sites that may function as carbon sinks or sources.

Due to global climate change and the rising levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, the interest for seeking solutions for mitigation has increased. While much attention has been directed towards technical solutions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), biogenic carbon sinks has also garnered significant attention. Previous studies have shown that coastal ecosystems such as seagrass meadows and mangroves have a much greater capacity for storing carbon (C) compared to terrestrial ecosystems. That raises the question if other coastal ecosystems, such as coastal wetland forests, that previously haven?t been considered as blue carbon habitats also contribute to coastal carbon sink capacity.