There is an increasing need for paleoclimate records from continental settings to
better understand the climatic changes during critical periods such as the Pliocene
and Early Pleistocene. Present data indicates a transition from a warmer than present-day
climate to a substantially different cooler climate. This study reviews the oxygen
and carbon isotope compositions of mammalian tooth enamel for the Pliocene
and Early Pleistocene of South and Central Europe to reconstruct the spatial distribution
and temporal changes of the vegetation and oxygen isotope composition of precipitation
(d18Oppt). In addition to a literature review, this study adds new stable isotope
measurements for this period. All d13C values indicate C3 ecosystems and reflect major
changes in the water use efficiency and/or in the prevailing
humidity. The reconstructed major floral types range from woodland to woodland ‒ mesic
grassland in all of the investigated regions. The carbon isotope compositions of fossil
mammal teeth demonstrate that the spatial distribution of vegetation was broadly similar
to those of the present-day for the Early/Late Pliocene e Early Pleistocene, with
the most “closed” vegetation in Central and Northern Italy, while open mesic grassland
vegetation covers can be reconstructed for the Iberian Peninsula, Massif Central region
(Central France) and the Carpathian Basin. The calculated d18Oppt values give a negative
temporal shift of about 1e1.5‰ from the Early Pliocene to Late Pliocene e Early Pleistocene
in three regions (Iberian Peninsula, Central Italy, Carpathian Basin), potentially
representing a 1.5e3.0 C decrease in mean annual
temperatures (MAT) over time. In the Massif Central region and the Carpathian Basin,
the d18Oppt values are almost the same for the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene,
while in Northern Italy the values decreased over that period. The d18Oppt values
are in the range of present-day d18Oppt values over the Early Pliocene and somewhat
lower than present-day values for the Late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene in
most of the regions. Because most other proxies indicate warmer than present-day climate
for the Early Pliocene and similar to present-day climate for the Early Pleistocene,
the d18Oppt values are generally lower than expected, which can be partially explained
by local effects.