In this talk, Tano Gutiérrez Cánovas (EBD-CSIC) will show how global change is increasing river degradation through the simultaneous occurrence of multiple stressor. The combined effects of these stressors are causing an unprecedented loss of freshwater biodiversity, but conventional management and restoration actions are still based on single stressor abatements. To address this problem, he will firstly review how freshwater biodiversity responds to multiple stressors through different synthesis and meta-analytical works. Second, he will explore the functional consequences of freshwater biodiversity change and the ecological mechanisms underpinning biodiversity – ecosystem functioning under stress.