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.

Till f?ljd av klimatf?r?ndringarna ?kar b?de temperaturen och nederb?rden i Arktis, vilket f?rv?ntas f? stora konsekvenser f?r vegetationen som finns d?r. F?r?ndringar i sammans?ttningen av funktionella v?xttyper kan vara en viktig faktor till f?r?ndringar i kolbalansen och bidra till att avg?ra om Arktis f?rblir en kols?nka snarare ?n en kolk?lla. Detta ?r av stor global betydelse d? tundraekosystemen lagrar ungef?r h?lften av jordens marklagrade kol.

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.