Item

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of temporal and spatial discontinuities for biotic activities at the example of riverine systems. In addition to the existing terms of "biodiversity hot spots" and "biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments", we define here "biotic hot spots" as "sites that show disproportionally high organism-driven biomass turnover rates relative to the surrounding ecosystem area", whereas "biotic hot moments" are "short periods that exhibit disproportionally high organism-driven turnover rates and/or biodiversity relative to longer intervening time periods." We deliver a list of examples of these hot spots and hot moments from low-order streams, riverine channels and floodplain systems, classify the according to their duration and predictability and make a plea for a better understanding of these events and sites both for the design of scientific studies and for conservation schemes.