Past moisture and vegetation conditions at Lake Aura, Norway using n -alkanes and pollen

Wetlands are valuable paleoenvironmental archives where pollen and n -alkane samples can be collected and used to reconstruct local vegetation patterns and hydrological conditions. However, the impact of local environmental heterogeneity on n -alkanes specifically remains poorly constrained. To address this, we apply a combined n -alkane and pollen approach which allows for a more nuanced reconstruction. In this study, we analyze three separate peat cores around Lake Aura, a high-altitude lake in central Norway, to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation and hydrological development. The area has extensive evidence of successive archaeological activity, and human impacts on vegetation are considered. Our records show a general pattern of arboreal dominance, but with increasing percentages of grassy vegetation towards the Late Holocene, possibly associated with the onset and intensification of pastoralism. Although pollen and n -alkane records broadly converge, intervals where the n -alkane wood/grass ratio rises while the arboreal pollen declines show that the proxies capture different aspects of vegetation change, refining the overall reconstruction. Our study demonstrates the value of combining pollen with molecular markers for reconstructing Holocene vegetation and moisture patterns, and we highlight the broader potential of this tandem approach for refining paleoenvironmental reconstructions in heterogeneous landscapes.