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Termination of pasturing by cattle resulted in profound alteration of vegetation on treeless summits (= polonina balds) in the Western Bieszczady, Poland. Observations from 1980, compared with earlier descriptions and evidence from the neighbouring Ukrainian Carpathians, made it possible to distinguish four stages in the development of vegetation above timberline: 1) Prior to human colonization, the size and pattern of subalpine grasslands and scrub were maintained by joint action of summit climate and herds of wild ungulates. 2) Introduction of cattle resulted in the expansion of flower-rich communities dominated by Nardus stricta and Vaccinium myrtillus. 3) About ten years after removal of cattle, only the first signs of change in the size and species composition of balds were detected. 4) In 1980 species-poor communities dominated by Calamagrostis arundinacea and Deschampsia caespitosa, were observed completely replacing - contrary to earlier prediction - the Nardetum carpaticum orientate and Vaccinietum myrtilli; stands of Calamagrostis villosa, a species recorded in this area for the first time, contributed to the latest observed pattern of the polonina balds.