Organic molecules preserved in soils and sediments offer highly resolved insights into Earth’s Quaternary environmental processes and biosphere evolution. Using organic geochemical methods, including lipid biomarkers (e.g., n-alkanes, GDGTs, BHPs) and their compound-specific isotopes (e.g., δ13C, δ2H, Δ14C), environmental changes through time can be reconstructed. This session aims to showcase the latest research in development and applications of organic biogeochemistry to understand mechanisms influencing the composition and distribution of these compounds in terrestrial conditions. We invite contributions highlighting empirical calibrations and statistical methods across modern gradients and geological archives, methodological innovations, and analytical advancements (e.g., high-resolution MS, CSRA). Studies that illustrate limitations and potential of lipid records, elucidate biosynthesis pathways of source organisms and carbon cycle dynamics are also welcome.