English landscapes including the Shropshire Hills will be hit by the effects of climate change, Natural England warned today.

Areas such as the Long Mynd could be at higher risk of fire as summers become warmer and drier, while wooded areas such as Wenlock Edge will be hit by storms.

Analysis of what needs to be done to help four areas adapt to rising temperatures shows habitats will be altered and wildlife forced to move.

Some areas will lose mature trees as a result of drought and storms.

And species considered “invasive” in more northerly areas, such as the sycamore, will have to be accepted as resident as temperatures rise.

The research into the four pilot areas – also including the Cumbrian High Fells, the Dorset Downs and the Norfolk Broads – from the Government’s conservation agency has drawn up practical actions that Natural England says would need to be taken to help the landscapes and wildlife adapt to changes in the climate.

Measures vary according to region, but include pollarding of trees in Dorset woodlands and Shropshire parkland to reduce their susceptibility to storms, and allowing sycamore to grow in the High Fells.

The pilot studies of four of the 159 “character areas” of England also warned the uplands of the High Fells must be managed to prevent the emission of large amounts of carbon as hotter summers dry or erode peatland.

Several areas, including the chalk plateau of the Dorset Downs and the Cumbrian fells, could be affected by onshore wind turbines which would damage the landscape, the reports said.

Natural England chief executive Dr Helen Phillips said: “Our most precious species, habitats and landscapes urgently need to be managed with climate change in mind.

“By anticipating how particular areas might be affected by climate change, and by developing targeted, local responses – this will be a valuable means for us to understand how the natural environment can adapt to the climate challenges it faces.”

By Sophie Bignall