The Llobregat River basin: a paradigm of impaired rivers under climate change threats -- Low Llobregat aquifers: intensive development, salinization, contamination and management -- Managed artificial recharge in the Llobregat aquifers: quantitative versus qualitative aspects -- In-Stream nutrient flux and retention in relation to land use in the Llobregat River Basin -- The biological communities in the Llobregat as the outcome of multiple stressors -- Occurrence of persistent organic pollutants in the Llobregat River Basin: an overview.-Occurence and behaviour of brominated flame retardants in the Llobregat River Basin -- Inputs of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds in the Llobregat River Basin -- Occurrence and fate of sulfonamide antibiotics in surface waters: climatic effects on their presence in the mediterranean region and aquatic ecosystem vulnerability -- Perfluorinated compounds analysis, environmental fate and occurrence: The Llobregat River as case study. Illicit drugs and metabolites in the Llobregat River Basin -- Risk assessment of pollutants in the Llobregat River Basin -- Human pressure and its effects on water quality and biota in the Llobregat River -- Wastewater reuse in the Llobregat: the experience at the Prat de Llobregat treatment plant -- Ecosystem services in an impacted watershed. The relevance of hydrology, human influence and global change.

The Llobregat belongs to the most thoroughly studied rivers in Europe and is a paradigm of the confluence of human and natural disturbances in a single basin. Because of its location in a very densely populated region and its Mediterranean character, the Llobregat supports a mixture of irregular flow, water abstraction, excess nutrients, mining debris, and a wide array of pollutants. The aquatic organisms strive to survive in a dramatically changing river that passes through a succession of dams, weirs and channels. The long-term river monitoring as well as the research that has been carried out in the river for a long time have provided an extensive knowledge of these disturbances and their effects on the biological communities. This book highlights the available information, with emphasis on the hydrological, chemical and biological elements interspersed in the river. Experts in the field discuss the main nutrient patterns and pollutant occurrence and the responses of the biological quality elements as well as the river ecosystem to the overall natural and man-made influences.