Processes of global change are particularly evident in dry areas and high mountain regions in terms of vulnerability and increased risk for the local population. With regard to the Caucasus region the main threads are land-use changes and unregulated grazing that were caused by the collapse of former collective systems in the post-Soviet transformation process. Thus, the challenge of the following decades will be to find ways for sustainable regional futures – especially regarding land-use – that are flexible enough to adapt to new environmental conditions, as well as to the new socio-economic situation in the region. Here, knowledge generation and the development of locally adapted land-use options in a transdisciplinary way are crucial. In particular agricultural practice and research on agricultural knowledge are of great relevance in facing global change as farming is one of the most important means of survival in many countries. Knowledge and practice of sustainable land-use and in particular the conservation of soils are ecologically and economically relevant to support livelih...