Soil bacterial and fungal communities and the associated nutrient cycling responses to forest conversion after selective logging in a subtropical forest of China

•Forest structure recovered within 25 years after selective logging.•Fungi were found to be more susceptible than bacteria to forest conversion.•Fungi affected C-, N- and P-cycling, but bacteria only affected C-cycling.•Fungi may play a more important role in aboveground-belowground linkages during forest conversion compared with bacteria.