A bustle in the hedgerow: Exploring the dual effectiveness of farm scale biodiversity enhancement for avian conservation and pest control services in an intensive agricultural region

The ‘bustle’ in Led Zeppelin’s famous lyric clearly refers to the complex trade-offs in co-managing for biodiversity conservation and food production in working lands. Two of the predicted benefits of habitat enhancement in unproductive margins surrounding crops (e.g., hedgerows) are: 1) the attraction of beneficial predators that assist farmers by reducing crop pests and improving yields, and 2) the provision of quality habitat sufficient to support stable populations of beneficial animals. Rarely have these two been rigorously evaluated together. In a case study using birds in California’s Central Valley I explore what the bustle is all about.