The frequency and magnitude of extreme climate events are predicted to change, affecting ecological dynamics worldwide. The goal of this Organized Oral Session is to share diverse examples of the ecological roles of extreme climate events in a variety of systems and introduce a new conceptual framework to increase our ability to generalize and predict ecological responses to extreme climate events (Boucek et al. in prep). Case studies presented during this session will represent a large diversity in the type of extreme climate event (e.g., floods, droughts, ice storms, hurricanes, heatwaves, freeze events, blizzards), ecosystem in which the events occurred (e.g., rainforest, desert, coastal, hardwood forest), nested within a range of biomes (e.g., temperate, arctic, sub-tropical, tropical) and ecological response. Examining the diversity of extreme events will help identify commonalities among studies to broaden our view of the ecological impacts of extreme events and help locate current research gaps to guide future theoretical, observational, experimental research on extreme climate events. This session will be of interest to many ecologists, as extreme events can influence any biotic cycle, organism, or interaction. There are many reasons why extreme events should be a critical part of climate change research. Extreme climate events often influence ecosystems differently than gradual change. Most ecological observations and models, however, only capture ecological dynamics close to mean conditions, because the chance to observe or induce extreme events has been rare until recently. Research on the ecological effects of climate extremes lags well behind that of gradual change in climate conditions. Extreme event are also diverse (e.g., floods, droughts, hurricanes, heatwaves, freeze events, blizzards) and creating a useful general framework for understanding extreme events requires collaboration between researchers in a variety of ecosystems. Extreme climate events can also influence ecosystems in a variety of ways. The climate event itself may not only be damaging, but might also interact with landscape elements to further exacerbate the damage, causing massive fires, landslides or rockslides. Detrimental impacts on one part of the community can cascade throughout the food web, leading to additional ecological consequences such as habitat loss, pathogen expansions, or pollinator declines. A broader understanding of extreme events is currently needed to help understand their role in shaping future ecosystems.