Environmental and ecological changes recorded in lake sediments can provide valuable information about natural versus anthropogenic effects on the environment, especially in alpine lakes, which are commonly regarded as sensitive indicators of both local and global environmental changes. To reconstruct the past ~ 400 years of environmental history of alpine Lake Son-Kul, central Tienshan, Kyrgyzstan, we measured lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes [n-ALKs] and n-alkanoic acids [n-FAs]) and other geochemical variables (total organic carbon [TOC] and total nitrogen [TN]) in a ²¹⁰Pb- and ¹³⁷Cs-dated sediment core. Stratigraphic shifts in lipid biomarkers, TOC and TN indicate three principal environmental stages in the lake over the past four centuries. Stage I (~ 1600–1900 AD) was characterized by relatively lower and stable terrestrial organic matter (OM) and limited aquatic primary productivity. A period of shallow-water conditions was revealed by increased abundances in long-chain n-FAs ca. 1775 AD. Stage II (~ 1900–1960 AD) was characterized by increased allochthonous OM inputs, indicating marked development of terrestrial vegetation caused by elevated temperatures. In stage III (~ 1960–2011 AD), allochthonous OM inputs and aquatic primary productivity in the lake increased significantly compared to previous stages. Warm and dry conditions may be responsible for the rapid increase in allochthonous OM inputs and changes in herbaceous plant communities during the interval ~ 1960–1983 AD. A pesticide spill in 1976 caused a reduction in aquatic macrophytes, as recorded by biomarker indexes, e.g. Paq, LPTP. In addition, greater human-mediated nutrient loading was responsible for increasing phytoplankton productivity, especially in recent decades.

湖泊沉积物中记录的环境和生态变化可以提供有关自然与人为对环境的影响的宝贵信息，特别是在高山湖泊中，这通常被认为是当地和全球环境变化的敏感指标。为了重建吉尔吉斯斯坦中部天山高山松库尔湖过去约 400 年的环境历史，我们测量了脂质生物标志物（正烷烃 [ n- ALKs] 和正链烷酸 [ n- FAs]）和其他地球化学变量（总有机碳 [TOC] 和总氮 [TN]）在²¹⁰ Pb 和¹³⁷Cs 年代沉积物岩心。脂质生物标志物、TOC 和 TN 的地层变化表明过去四个世纪湖泊中的三个主要环境阶段。第一阶段（约公元 1600-1900 年）的特点是陆地有机物（OM）相对较低且稳定，水生初级生产力有限。长链n的丰度增加揭示了一段浅水条件-FAs 约。公元 1775 年。第二阶段（约公元 1900-1960 年）的特点是外地 OM 输入增加，表明温度升高导致陆地植被显着发育。在第三阶段（~ 1960-2011 AD），与之前的阶段相比，湖泊中的外来有机物输入和水生初级生产力显着增加。温暖和干燥的条件可能是公元 1960 年至 1983 年期间外地 OM 输入和草本植物群落变化迅速增加的原因。1976 年的一次农药泄漏导致水生大型植物减少，如 Paq、LPTP 等生物标志物指数所记录的那样。此外，人类介导的养分负荷增加是浮游植物生产力提高的原因，尤其是在最近几十年。