Production strategies focused at boosting output and profitability have transformed modern agricultural landscapes. While these landscapes do an excellent job of achieving this goal, there are growing calls for agriculture to expand the spectrum of ecological services it delivers to society. All of the “conditions and processes” through which ecosystems “sustain and fulfill human life” are characterized as ecosystem services. Production of harvested products, provision of clean air and water, climate regulation, biodiversity maintenance, biological control of pests, diseases, and weeds, and cultural or aesthetic values are all examples of these services provided by both managed and natural systems. Habitat management, as part of a conservation biological control strategy, aims to maximize one specific ecosystem service, namely pest regulation, by increasing natural enemy influence in the landscape by modifying plant-based resources.
