This study represents an attempt to correlate wet and dry episodes as defined by biomarker parameters in peat profiles of Asturias (North Spain). The peats developed in a coastal location on high plains at heights ranging between 115 and 256 m above sea level. The peat profiles which cover different Holocene intervals exhibit growth rates ranging from 0.05 to 0.56 mm/yr and so provide records of different resolution. Biomarkers have revealed the widespread occurrence of nonadecan-2-one (K-19), a characteristic of Cantabrian peatlands, different periods of dominance by higher plants and bacterial triterpenoids and an alternance of humid and dry periods as reflected in the n-alkane ratios. A change from a more arboreous vegetation before 4000 cal. yr BP in the relatively dry warm climate of the Middle Holocene to a Sphagnum-herbaceous dominant vegetation typical of cooler wetter conditions is observed. The wet episode between 2200 and 3000 cal. yr BP has a widespread occurrence in the studied profiles, whereas other dry-wet episodes are only recorded in some peat deposits and may be associated with local conditions. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.