<p>Human existence and welfare depend on functional ecosystems. Ecosystems are critical to sustain life-support services for human well-being. One method that visualizes that humanity requires ecosystem services for resource consumption and assimilation of produced waste is ecological footprints. This study focuses on the ecosystem service carbon sequestering. A quantification of this ecosystem service showed the potential for accumulation of carbon in different ecosystems in Stockholm and Norrbotten County for the years of 1995 and 2004. This study also provides an estimate of the ecosystem area that is appropriated to accumulate all carbon from total carbon dioxide emissions in Stockholm and Norrbotten County respectively. The appropriated ecosystem area represents the ecological footprint. The ecological footprint is also calculated for Stockholms läns landsting`s total carbon dioxide emissions in 2004. The total potential for accumulation of carbon is lower in the ecosystems in Stockholm County in 2004 than in 1995 and the corresponding figure for Norrbotten County has increased. The results indicate that the total potential for carbon accumulation in Stockholm County was approximately 427 kton C year-1 in 1995 and 352 kton C year -1 in 2004. In 1995 the ecosystems in Stockholm County could assimilate 26% of the county’s total emissions whereas the figure for 2004 was 21%. In Norrbotten County, the total potential for accumulation was approximately 2 824 kton C year -1 in 1995 and 2 983 kton C year -1 in 2004. The ecosystem area that is appropriated to assimilate total emissions of carbon dioxide was smaller in 2004 than in 1995 in Stockholm County and larger in Norrbotten County. The ecological footprint for total carbon dioxide emissions in Stockholm County was 12 696 km2 in 1995 and 12 506 km2 in 2004. The corresponding estimate for Norrbotten County indicate that the ecological footprint for total carbon sequestering was 14 457 km2 in 1995 and 32 146 km2 in 2004. The result shows that both regions require large areas of ecosystem to absorb total emissions of carbon dioxide. Stockholms läns landsting´s ecological footprint was 409 km2, which corresponds to 3.3 % of the County’s total ecological footprint. Stockholm County depends on ecosystem areas outside the region for assimilation of the region’s total emissions of carbon dioxide. According to the results Norrbotten County is self-sufficient with regard to the ecosystem service carbon accumulation. This study also includes a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the ecological footprint as a methodology. The received results serve as the starting point for this discussion. Ecological footprints are pedagogic and communicative indicators and can therefore reach out to a broad audience which is a great advantage with the method. It is a static measure and is therefore incapable of giving any presages. Ecological footprints do not take the dynamics and complexity of ecosystems into account and can therefore not provide any information about the possibilities for ecosystems to deliver ecosystem services at the same quality and quantity in the future. The method does not take socio-economic factors into consideration. For these reasons, ecological footprint should not be used as an indicator for sustainability. On the other hand, ecological footprint can illustrate why an ecologically sustainable development is necessary by visualizing that human welfare and existence rely on functional ecosystems.</p>

Human existence and welfare depend on functional ecosystems. Ecosystems are critical to sustain life-support services for human well-being. One method that visualizes that humanity requires ecosystem services for resource consumption and assimilation of produced waste is ecological footprints. This study focuses on the ecosystem service carbon sequestering. A quantification of this ecosystem service showed the potential for accumulation of carbon in different ecosystems in Stockholm and Norrbotten County for the years of 1995 and 2004. This study also provides an estimate of the ecosystem area that is appropriated to accumulate all carbon from total carbon dioxide emissions in Stockholm and Norrbotten County respectively. The appropriated ecosystem area represents the ecological footprint. The ecological footprint is also calculated for Stockholms läns landsting`s total carbon dioxide emissions in 2004. The total potential for accumulation of carbon is lower in the ecosystems in Stockholm County in 2004 than in 1995 and the corresponding figure for Norrbotten County has increased. The results indicate that the total potential for carbon accumulation in Stockholm County was approximately 427 kton C year-1 in 1995 and 352 kton C year -1 in 2004. In 1995 the ecosystems in Stockholm County could assimilate 26% of the county’s total emissions whereas the figure for 2004 was 21%. In Norrbotten County, the total potential for accumulation was approximately 2 824 kton C year -1 in 1995 and 2 983 kton C year -1 in 2004. The ecosystem area that is appropriated to assimilate total emissions of carbon dioxide was smaller in 2004 than in 1995 in Stockholm County and larger in Norrbotten County. The ecological footprint for total carbon dioxide emissions in Stockholm County was 12 696 km2 in 1995 and 12 506 km2 in 2004. The corresponding estimate for Norrbotten County indicate that the ecological footprint for total carbon sequestering was 14 457 km2 in 1995 and 32 146 km2 in 2004. The result shows that both regions require large areas of ecosystem to absorb total emissions of carbon dioxide. Stockholms läns landsting´s ecological footprint was 409 km2, which corresponds to 3.3 % of the County’s total ecological footprint. Stockholm County depends on ecosystem areas outside the region for assimilation of the region’s total emissions of carbon dioxide. According to the results Norrbotten County is self-sufficient with regard to the ecosystem service carbon accumulation. This study also includes a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the ecological footprint as a methodology. The received results serve as the starting point for this discussion. Ecological footprints are pedagogic and communicative indicators and can therefore reach out to a broad audience which is a great advantage with the method. It is a static measure and is therefore incapable of giving any presages. Ecological footprints do not take the dynamics and complexity of ecosystems into account and can therefore not provide any information about the possibilities for ecosystems to deliver ecosystem services at the same quality and quantity in the future. The method does not take socio-economic factors into consideration. For these reasons, ecological footprint should not be used as an indicator for sustainability. On the other hand, ecological footprint can illustrate why an ecologically sustainable development is necessary by visualizing that human welfare and existence rely on functional ecosystems.

During the last decade, the academic interest for Earth’s natural carbon sinks and their role concerning climate change has increased. Today, many scientists around the world are trying to calculate different ecosystem’s potential to sequester and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As a newcomer to the scientific arena, the term ‘blue carbon’ has been well received by scientists in the field. ‘Blue carbon’ highlights the carbon captured and stored by productive ecosystems along the world’s coasts. The term refers to coastal wetlands – such as mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass meadows – and it came to life as the scientific community recognized these ecosystems’ significant potential as effective carbon sinks. New research indicates that these ecosystems’ complex and vertical root systems can store much larger amounts of carbon in the soil than any other terrestrial ecosystem. By studying this subject, scientists are trying to understand how these ecosystems can help us in the quest of removing excessive carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The goal of this thesis is to conduct a literature review, aiming to analyse and compile the new research on ‘blue carbon’ that has been published during the last 10 years. The paper aims to investigate whether the ecosystem’s potential as carbon sinks differ from each other, and what threats they will face in the future. It will additionally review if scientists have been able to unite around any predictions about what the future for ‘blue carbon’ – and its role in mitigating climate change – will look like. / Under det senaste decenniet har intresset kring naturliga kolsänkors potential och roll i att mildra klimatförändringar ökat. Idag är det många forskare som arbetar med att beräkna mängden kol som olika ekosystem runt om världen kan lagra i sin biomassa och i jorden under dess rötter. Som en nykomling på den vetenskapliga arenan, har termen ’blue carbon’ blivit väl mottaget av forskare inom området. ’Blue carbon’ syftar på det kol som fixeras och lagras av de produktiva ekosystemen längs världens kuster. Termen refererar till kustbelägna våtmarker – så som mangroveskogar, saltträsk och sjögräsbäddar – och introducerades efter att den vetenskapliga världen erkänt deras imponerande potential som kolsänkor. Ny forskning tyder på att deras avancerade och vertikala rotsystem kan lagra mer koldioxid i marken än vad vanliga terrestra skogar kan. Genom att studera detta ämne försöker forskare att förstå hur dessa ekosystem kan hjälpa oss att avlägsna överskottet av koldioxid från atmosfären. Målet med denna uppsats är att utföra en litteraturstudie och analysera, samt sammanställa den nya forskningen om ’blue carbon’ som publicerats de senaste 10 åren. Uppsatsen kommer undersöka hur stor skillnad det är mellan de olika ekosystemen och vilka hot de står inför i framtiden. Dessutom kommer den undersöka ifall forskare kommit närmre i att enas kring förutsägelser om framtiden för ’blue carbon’, och hur dess roll i att mildra klimatförändringarna kommer se ut.