The aim of the "First Central European Conference on Geomorphology and Quaternary Sciences", held in Gießen in September 2018, was to create an integrated view of Earth sciences by connecting two closely related and interdependent scientific disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach is crucial since in order to understand present-day environments and current geomorphological processes, a substantial knowledge of past environments and their specific changes is needed. Vice versa, a Quaternary sedimentary archive can only be interpreted when the geomorphological process behind its formation is well understood. As a consequence, this special issue brings together studies on geomorphological process-response systems, Quaternary archives, and palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological research from different areas around the globe including various spatial and temporal scales.