We examined temporal changes in the forest floor across a zonal chronosequence represented by four stages of stand development: stand initiation ( <= 7 years after disturbance), stem exclusion ( ±40-year-old stands), understory reinitiation ( ±60-year-old stands), and old-growth (>350-year-old) stands. All stages, except the old-growth, had a similar history of disturbance: clear-cutting without subsequent burning and silvicultural treatments. Considering thickness and chemical and biotic properties of the LF and H horizons, the most dissimilar stages were the stand initiation and old-growth, and the most similar stages were the stem exclusion and understory reinitiation. Compared with the old-growth stage, the stand initiation stage had about the same thickness of LF and H horizons and bacterial biomass but lower acidity, C:N ratio, fungal biomass, and soil fauna density and higher N mineralization. The stem exclusion and understory reinitiation stages had, in general, properties intermediate between the stand initiation and old-growth stage, with a gradual increase in acidity, C:N ratio, and fungal and faunal populations. After clear-cutting, the forest floor showed inevitable qualitative and quantitative alterations in response to the open-area climate. At the same time, it showed resilience, as most faunal groups of the old-growth stage were present in the stand initiation stage.