In the exceptionally dry summer of 2003, a major wildfire burned 300 ha of forest in the central-alpine region of the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The burnt area ranges from 800 m a.s.l. to the timberline at 2100 m a.s.l. The establishment of dominant species during early postfire succession may be an essential factor affecting the rate of natural reforestation, an important aspect of post-fire succession in the Central Alps. Since 2004, the recolonisation of vascular plant species has been monitored annually using systematic sampling with 154 sampling plots of 200 m². Two years after the fire, various species established at different altitudes. At lower altitudes, vegetation is dominated by Conyza canadensis and Lactuca serriola, whereas at medium altitude the grasses Calamagrostis varia and Brachypodium pinnatum, and the herbs Epilobium angustifolium and Saponaria ocymoides are most abundant. Early vegetation development is fastest above 1'400 m a.s.l., where vegetation cover already amounted to 45% in the second postfire year. Tree regeneration is also more abundant at higher altitudes and seems to be facilitated by dominant E. angustifolium. Our preliminary results indicate that dominant species can act as 'switches' in vegetation development determining whether forest regeneration can establish or not. Further vegetation relevees in 2006 and the following years will show whether this can be confirmed.