Burn severity and pre-fire seral state interact to shape vegetation responses to fire in a young, western Cascade Range forest

•Initial dominance by early-seral species in young stands is reinforced by higher severity fire.•Early-seral perennials, not annuals, dominate after burning of young stands.•Species responses to fire reflect the type and depth of their perennating structures.•Differences in the seral composition of young and old forests produce different responses to fire.