• major flood events are predicted to become greater and more frequent, with implications for management of the Cairngorms headwaters and associated lowland river systems;
• fixed carbon in peats is increasingly seen as an important store of CO2 that must be retained; the improvement of management practices to help safeguard the extensive peaty soils in the Cairngorms will be important;
• as montane and moorland species lose their habitats with global warming, the Cairngorms are predicted to become a major UK refuge for such species;
• as a highly sensitive environment, the uplands of the Cairngorms are an accurate barometer of the biological impact of climate change;
• access to wild areas for adventurous experience is shrinking in a world with an expanding population and associated urban and agricultural development; those that survive will become even more valued and come under increasing pressure.