The increased human impact on the environment and climate after the retreat of the Last Glacial has strengthened its importance in the region of Västernorrland where Mesolithic sites are evident. This study focuses on a multiproxy analysis, where archaeological and natural science methods are combined to test several techniques in a peat sample. The origin of the peat sample is coming from the formation of a postglacial kettle hole situated near to Mesolithic sites. The aim of this thesis is twofold. Firstly, to estimate the value and the weakness of each method as also the combination of multiple results. Secondly, to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment including the detection of possible indications from past cultures. To begin with, the peat sample was collected from a kettle hole near Lillsjön lake, see (fig. 1) in 2010. The total depth of the peat sample was 80 cm and after its sampling, it was placed in a cold storage room until the spring of 2019, when analysis was conducted. Initially, a theoretical background will be presented as well as information for the area of study in the section of Scientific background. Moreover, a short theory is going to be given for the formation of the landscapes in cold environments as also the validity of beetle fossils with examples from previous case studies. After the theory part, all the methods are specified with results and appropriate diagrams and tables. After the analysis, the discussion will follow by combining all the methods and give potential theories for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment. The discussion part is divided into smaller chapters and after the conclusion an appendix is given with fossil photographs that were taken during the identification, see (fig.15,16,17).

In dieser Studie wurden stabile Isotopenverhältnisse genutzt um die Mechanismen der aquatisch-terrestrischen C – und N-Dynamiken über verschiedene Skalenebenen hinweg in der Moränenlandschaft von Nordostdeutschland zu identifizieren; einer Landschaft, die stark landwirtschaftlich genutzt wird und in der es eine Vielzahl von kleinen Wasserkörpern (Sölle) gibt. Auf der regionalen Landschaftsskala spiegeln d13C-Isotopenkarten des org. Materials in Oberböden und von Pflanzenblättern eines 38.2 km2 großen Gebietes den Eintrag von org. Material von C3-Pflanzen, deren Wassernutzungseffizienz im org. Material des Bodens eingeprägt wurde, sowie den Eintrag von Mais (C4-Pflanze), wider. Die d15N-Isotopenkarte des org. Materials in Böden weist verschiedene Düngepraktiken hin. Auf der regionalen Sollskala deuten die d13C- und d15N-Isotopenwerte von Oberflächensedimenten von 51 Söllen auf kürzliche Einträge des org. Materials und Bewirtschaftungseffekte im Einzugsgebiet hin. Tiefere Sedimente sind durch die Ablagerung org. Materials von terrestrischen Pflanzen sowie dessen Umsetzungsgrad geprägt in Abhängigkeit von der Wasserführung. Auf der Transekt-Skala, d.h. entlang von Transekten von Erosions- zu Depositionsgebieten im Einzugsgebiet eines Solls, beeinflussen Erosion, Pflanzenproduktion, mikrobielle Umsetzung und Gülledüngung verschiedene Fraktionen des org. Materials. Auf der Aggregat-Skalenebene sind die Art und der Anteil spezifischer organo-mineral Assoziationen entlang des Transekts variabel. Bodenpartikel vom Feld und hereinwachsende Makrophyten sind die Quellen des org. Materials in Sedimenten. Diese Studie hat erfolgreich stabile Isotopenverhältnisse zur Identifikation von Mechanismen der C- und N-Dynamik auf individuellen Skalenebenen angewendet. Kleine Inlandwasserkörper sind Schlüsselelemente für die C- und N-Dynamik in landwirtschaftlich genutzten Moränenlandschaften. / In moraine landscapes, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics can vary greatly across landscape structures and soil types especially when small water bodies are interspersed in the landscape. This study used stable isotope ratios to identify the mechanisms regulating the aquatic-terrestrial C and N dynamics across different scales in the young moraine landscape of NE Germany – a landscape intensively used for agriculture and interspersed with countless of small water bodies, the so-called kettle holes. At the regional landscape scale, d13C isoscapes of topsoil bulk soil organic matter (SOM) and plant leaves collected from a 38.2 km2 area revealed long-term inputs OM from C3 crops, which imprinted their water use efficiency status onto the soil, as well as short-term inputs from corn. The d15N SOM isoscape identified fertilization-induced impacts on the N dynamics of agricultural fields and grasslands. At the regional kettle hole scale, d13C and d15N of surface sediments of 51 kettle holes reflected recent OM inputs and management practices in the catchment. Deeper sediments recorded the degree to which the OM has been processed within the kettle hole depending on the water-logging period. At the transect scale, erosion, plant productivity, microbial decomposition and slurry fertilization affected OM fractions in topsoil along transects spanning erosional to depositional areas in the catchment of one arable kettle hole. At the aggregate scale, the pathway and magnitude of OM-mineral associations changed along the transect. OM in sediments was derived from clay- and silt-sized particles from the field, together with emergent macrophyte contributions. By means of stable isotopes techniques, different mechanisms were identified at the individual scales. Consideration of the spatial heterogeneity of all scales is essential to understand landscape C and N dynamics. Small inland water bodies are key constituents of C and N dynamics in moraine agricultural landscapes.