EnhancES − An open source GIS-based toolbox for assessing, mapping and enhancing ecosystem services

• EnhancES is scalable from building blocks to regions. • In its final stage, EnhancES will cover twenty regulating, provisioning and cultural services. • EnhancES allows for rapid evaluation of planning scenarios. • Many ecosystem services are quantified in biophysical units. • Existing data bases or own databases can be integrated. The transfer of ecosystem service assessments to real-world decision-making in the public and private spheres is lagging. We introduce EnhancES, a toolbox for mapping and assessing ecosystem services developed with the open-source software QGIS. The toolbox can currently assess twelve ecosystem services (ES). We demonstrate how biophysical ES modelling can be integrated into a multistep spatial planning/design process via EnhancES. We used real information from the planning process of a residential area in Bochum, Germany. We compared the expected changes in six ES that emerged from three different urban planning designs submitted as part of an official urban planning competition, plus a revised plan. The gains and losses in standardized ES performance convey a clear message: an overall gain of ES is only possible with the revised plan. Acknowledging ES as a fundamental basis for human well-being should put them at the centre of decision-making, because marginal valuation over different development alternatives is the way forward.