Abstract
The Rhône is an eighth order river that links several valleys and rivers from the upper Alps in the Swiss Valais to the Mediterranean Sea in France. It is an Alpine river 812km long, with catchment covering about 98,500km2. Before regulation, the Rhône basin had a large array of landscapes and a high biological diversity. Tributaries flowing from the Alps, Jura, Vosges, Massif Central, and Cevennes had different morphological, hydrological, and ecological characteristics that differentially influenced the physical, chemical, and biological features of the Rhône. The river regulation for navigation improvement, protection against floods, hydroelectricity production and urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture intensification have severely altered the original hydromorphological, chemical, and biological features of the river. Current management objectives aim to restore habitat diversity, to improve the ecological quality of river ecosystems according to the Water Framework Directive while ensuring sustainability of river uses.
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