Paleobotanical and biomarker records over 2600 years from Beerberg peatland (Central Germany)

The late Holocene development of a raised ombrotrophic peat bog in the Thuringian Forest in Central Germany was investigated using pollen, plant macrofossils, lipid biomarker, elemental, and radiocarbon analyses. In October 2019, a 3.4 m core was recovered from the Beerberg peatland located in the Vessertal-Thuringian Forest Biosphere Reserve. Radiocarbon dating and a resulting age-depth model indicated that the age of the peatland is ca. 2600 yr BP. The purpose of the study was twofold: establishing a paleovegetation record with a reliable chronology for the Thuringian Forest and comparing the results of the pollen and plant macrofossil analyses to that of the lipid biomarker analysis to determine what additional insight the biomarkers could provide. Along with the counting of pollen and plant macrofossils, the carbon and nitrogen concentrations and their stable isotope values were measured from the bulk samples via elemental analyzer, and the absolute concentrations of n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and n-fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography flame ionization detection. The radiocarbon dates were measured by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Modern plant samples were also collected from the peatland during sampling, separated into leaf, stem, and root tissue as much as was possible, and the absolute concentrations of the n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and n-fatty acids were measured for each plant part.