Subordinate plants have a significant impact on soil organisms in primary successional floodplains and grassland ecosystems, but their role in subtropical forest ecosystems remains unclear. An experiment was conducted in a subtropical forest to test the hypothesis that removal of shrubs or subordinate arbour tree species would reduce the complexity and stability of the soil micro-food web. Principal response curves (PRCs) were performed to assess the responses of soil microbial and nematode communities to plant...