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Large-scale, low-density grazing is a standard management concept for conserving or enhancing biodiversity in cultural landscapes of central Europe. Documentation of results concerning effects of this type of grazing on biodiversity and functioning of degraded river valleys, however, is rare. For a period of ten years, we investigated vegetation development of three pastures in a river valley of northern Germany, where rewetting was combined with large-scale cattle grazing for restoration of the valley’s biodiversity as well as its water and nutrient regulation. The study yielded ambiguous results concerning achievement of restoration goals. Changes in plant diversity were dependent on site conditions and on previous land-use of the associated pastures. On mineral soils, species richness, total species number and β-diversity increased. On fen soils that formerly were species-poor wet grasslands, an increase in species richness was observed, whereas at sites formerly of species-rich vegetation, species richness decreased. Development of β-diversity showed no clear trend on fen sites. Establishment of woody species as indicator for enhanced structural heterogeneity was successful on mineral soils of abandoned arable fields with an open sward, and also on fen soils close to mature nursery trees. We conclude that a fine-tuning of factors influencing grazing behaviour of cattle is necessary for achieving simultaneous targets of nature conservation and resource protection. Restoration of river valleys in cultural landscapes is however a lengthy process, thus, long-term monitoring is indispensable for avoiding mismanagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MoorFutures® was the first standard for carbon credits from peatland rewetting. • It used a vegetation-based methodology for greenhouse gas emissions. • New methods for water quality, evaporative cooling and biodiversity are provided. • Simple and premium approaches have been tested at a study site. • The cost-efficient and robust approach can be adapted for other regions. In 2011, MoorFutures® were introduced as the first standard for generating credits from peatland rewetting. We developed methodologies to quantify ecosystem services before and after rewetting with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, evaporative cooling and mire-typical biodiversity. Both standard and premium approaches to assess these services were developed, and tested in the rewetted polder Kieve (NE-Germany). The standard approaches are default tier 1 estimation procedures, which require little time and few, mainly vegetation data. Based on the Greenhouse gas Emission Site Type (GEST) approach, emissions decreased from 1,306 t CO 2 e in the baseline scenario to 532 t CO 2 e in the project scenario, whereas 5 years after rewetting they were assessed to be 543 t CO 2 e per year. Nitrate release assessed via Nitrogen Emission Site Types (NEST) was estimated to decrease from 1,088 kg N (baseline) to 359 kg N (project), and appeared to be 309 kg N per year 5 years after rewetting. The heat flux − determined with Evapotranspiration Energy Site Types (EEST) – decreased from 6,691 kW (baseline) to 1,926 kW (project), and was 2,250 kW per year 5 years after rewetting. Mire-specific biodiversity was estimated to increase from very low (baseline) to high (project), but was only low 5 years after rewetting. The premium approaches allow quantifying a particular ecosystem service with higher accuracy by measuring or modelling. The approaches presented here have been elaborated for North-Germany but can be adapted for other regions. We encourage scientists to use our research as a model for assessing peatland ecosystem services including biodiversity in other geographical regions. Using vegetation mapping and indicator values derived from meta-analyses is a cost-efficient and robust approach to inform payment for ecosystem services schemes and to support conservation planning at regional to global scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]