Hydro-geomorphic connectivity has emerged as a significant conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of surface water and materials (e.g., sediment, plant propagules, and nutrients) through landscapes. The concept has had particular success in the field of catchment hydrology and fluvial geomorphology, but has also been employed in, for example, studies of soil erosion and hydrochory, and in neurosciences and social sciences. Connectivity as applied in various disciplines can be a transformative concept in understanding complex systems, allowing analyses of how such systems behave in terms of scaling, catastrophic/phase transitions, critical nodes, emergence and self-organization. However, recent research also highlights the widespread nature of natural longitudinal disconnectivity in river systems, such as beaver dams, log jams, lakes and wetlands. These and other forms of natural disconnectivity can have large spatial and temporal implications on ecological, geomorphic, hydrological and biogeochemical processes through buffering water and material fluxes. We aim to create a diverse interdisciplinary session that reflects a broad range of research seeking to illustrate the role of connectivity on various spatial scales as well as implications of and temporal and spatial variability of disconnectivity. We hope to use the session to develop a discussion of the dual roles of connectivity and disconnectivity to generate a basis for an integrated framework to be applied across the sciences in hydro-geomorphic systems and for managing complex systems and guiding river restoration.