Dynamics of plant and arthropod diversity during old field succession

The successional dynamics of arthropod diversity in 18 abandoned agricultural fields (age 15‐54 yr) at Cedar Creek. MN. USA were determined using sweep net sampling (44833 individuals of 618 species). Total arthropod species richness and equitability (J), but not abundance, increased significantly with field successional age. Herbivore and parasite species richness, but not detritivore and predator species richness, also increased significantly...