Rising temperatures are beginning to have a dramatic impact on Scottish wildlife as species of fish, bird and plant struggle to cope with milder weather

The warmer winters being ushered in by climate change could rob the Scottish landscape of its most iconic landmarks in the future.

Amid reports that 2007 is set to be the warmest year on record, environmental experts said that the county's Caledonian pine forests, snow-capped peaks, great salmon rivers and famous grouse moors could all become a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, warmer and soggier Scottish summers could be blighted with more insects than ever, with lyme-disease-carrying ticks set to explode in numbers along with midges and wasps when they fail to be killed off in winter frosts.

Last week, the Met Office forecast that the global temperature in 2007 is expected to be 0.54˚C above the 14˚C long-term average - and higher than the record set in 1998. It blamed the rise on manmade climate change and El Nino-type weather patterns.

The global forecast comes after 2006 was shown to be Britain's warmest on record, with a mean temperature of 9.7˚C, or 1.1˚C above the long-term average dating back to 1914.

Richard Dixon, director of World Wildlife Federation (WWF) Scotland, said that some of Scotland's most famous natural attractions are in danger of dying out if temperatures continue to climb.

"If it gets warm enough then the remaining 1% of Caledonian pine forest that survives in Scotland will retreat up mountain sides and eventually disappear. That has an impact on the animals and birds that depend on it, such as the red squirrel and the capercaillie," he said.

"Tourists coming to Scotland may enjoy the warmer weather, but in the summer there will be problems with ticks and lyme disease. They will survive the warmer winters where the cold weather used to kill them off.

He added: "Visitors may well find the midge in higher numbers as well as wasps which are living longer into the colder months."

Dave Morris, director of Ramblers Scotland, said that the country's world-renowned snow-capped munros no longer promised the climbing experience they once did.

"The main concern is the lack of snow which has already had an impact on the ski resorts," he said. "Winter hillwalking is a really important activity for ramblers and over the past 10 to 20 years there has been a reduction in the snow over the hills.

"This can make winter walks less attractive as they are less exciting."

He added that even when snow arrives, it is not lasting as long as it did in the past, meaning that walkers now need to be "opportunistic".

He said: "We are not necessarily getting less snow on the hills but it tends to melt quicker and it is not forming the hard snow banks that it did previously. We had snow in the Cairngorms last November but it does not last as long as it did years ago.

"We will see the effects of this trend on the munros, you won't get the snow that you would have there some years ago.

"You are now less likely to get a near-alpine climbing experience on Scotland's peaks. Now you have got to go out and take advantage of conditions as they arrive."

Professor Des Thompson, Scottish Natural Heritage's principal uplands adviser, said that the lack of snow on the mountain tops could also drive away one of Scotland's "natural jewels" - the snow bunting.

"It's not just losing the habitat that's the problem; it's more complex than that," he said. "Ecosystems will become out of sync: for example, insects won't be around when birds need them.

"Snow buntings are a small sparrow- like bunting that nest on the highest mountains. There are only 100 pairs in the country and they rely on an insect called the tipulid which lives in snow. With the snow melting early there are no insects for the birds. Scotland could lose a natural jewel."

The hunting industry that brings many tourists to Scotland is also being affected by the shrinking snow caps and rising temperatures. Ian Clark, director of the Scottish Association for Country Sports, warned that there may not in future be enough fish stocks for anglers.

He said: "Migratory fish such as salmon and sea trout are being confused by climate change. Scottish rivers are largely fed by snow melting off the hills in the summer. If there is no snow then the water doesn't get high enough and fish are unable to travel to mountain pools to spawn.

"We could see depletions in fish stocks in our rivers which attract tourists at the moment."

Clark also said that the rising temperatures have already seen grouse numbers decreasing, with a knock-on effect on tourism and conservation.

He explained: "The grouse moors are also being affected by an explosion of ticks that can kill up to 90% of chicks on a moor. Where you used to get thousands of grouse on the moor you might now only see a few hundred.

"American tourists who spend huge amounts of money to go on a shoot are not going to come to wait for the birds to arrive. That has long-term consequences because the hunting industry is often responsible for caring for these vulnerable stretches of land."

Other wildlife and plant species are appearing at unusual times because of global warming. Migrating hooper swans and several species of geese have made a particularly late arrival to Scotland this year.

They arrived up to a month late from their summer homes in Scandinavia, Iceland, Canada and Greenland when the warmer weather in these countries kept their food supply of grass and aquatic plants available for longer. Other changes to bird life in recent years include a lack of waxwings, which migrate from Scandinavia in colder weather.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has reported sightings of Scotland's first little egret in Fife. The small white heron, native to warmer climes, has stayed through the mild winters of the past three years. "That is a good indication of the change in weather as this bird has only been seen in England before," an RSPB spokesperson said. "If the weather doesn't get much colder it may stay here for the rest of the winter."

Botanists, meanwhile, have reported unseasonable flowering of plant life. Horticulturists have been alarmed by the early arrival of spring flowers caused by mild weather. Primroses and daffodils have already begun flowering all over Scotland.

Douglas McKean, assistant curator of the British section at the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh, said that climate change could kill off Scotland's native alpine plants while plants from warmer climbs were in full December bloom.

He said: "It is concerning. It is bad news for quite a few alpine plants as they are more dependent on the cold weather. They live in the mountains and if the weather keeps warming then there is nowhere that the plants can move to.

"Plants need to rest, if they don't have a rest in the winter then they won't fruit, we are seeing that in England with blackberries, redcurrants and gooseberries, even apples and pears. I think that this might well affect Scotland in the future."

However Richard Hirst, chairman of the horticultural board of the National Farmers' Union, thought cold weather in early spring would restore balance to plant life. He said: "We have still got two or three months to go where we could get the cold weather. To have this conversation in the middle of winter is perhaps a bit premature."

He said that milder weather and increased C02 gases in the atmosphere could help farmers as it encouraged plants to grow. "I am a sceptic about climate change, I think there are a lot of people making a lot of money out of the idea that things are going to be catastrophic. On the upside, things may be better for a lot of farmers," he added.

Friends of the Earth Scotland's chief executive, Duncan McLaren, disagreed there could be any advantages to climate change. He said: "When it comes to climate change, 2006 was another year of records and we are now starting to witness with our own eyes the impact it is having on wildlife and the wider environment.

"In the years ahead we will see these impacts spread to agriculture, business and other industries. Stopping climate chaos is a problem that requires every one of us to act."

A spokesperson for VisitScotland said: "The impact of global warming is by definition global and by no means unique to Scotland, and while it would be disappointing if any of our iconic images were to disappear, Scotland is not just about one or two activities or places. As such our marketing campaigns promote not just leisure but business tourism and cultural, sporting and other events because we know these have good growth potential and can take place year round."