- Area of Search
Areas of Search (AOSs) are geographical areas used in the selection of
Sites of Special Scientific Interest .NCC 1989, page 17, note 4.11] In England these are largely based on the 1974-1996 administrative counties (with larger counties divided into two or more areas), whereas in Scotland and Wales they are based around districts. The individual AOSs are between 400 km2 and 4,000 km2 in size. There are 59 AOSs in England, 12 in Wales, and 44 in Scotland. [NCC 1989, page 18, where all AOS boundaries are mapped [http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/sssi_ptA.pdf Map] ]Areas of Search in England
There are 59 Areas of Search in England. They are, in alphabetical order of the administrative counties into which they fall:
* Avon
*Bedfordshire
*Berkshire
*Buckinghamshire
*Cambridgeshire
*Cheshire
*Cornwall
* threeCumbria n AOSs, "East Cumbria", "South Cumbria" and "West Cumbria"
* twoCounty Durham AOSs, "East Durham" and "West Durham"
* twoDerbyshire AOSs, the "Peak District National Park" and "Derbyshire" (i.e. the remainder of the county, outside of the National Park)
* twoDevon AOSs, "North Devon" and "South Devon"
*Dorset
*East Sussex
* twoEssex AOSs, "North Essex" and "South Essex"
*Gloucestershire
*Greater London
* a combined "Merseyside & Greater Manchester" AOS
* twoHampshire AOSs, "Havant, Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham, Eastleigh, Southampton and the New Forest" covering the south and "Basingstoke, East Deane, East Hants, Hart, Rushmoor, Test Valley and Winchester" in the north
* separate AOSs for Hereford and Worcester
*Hertfordshire
* twoHumberside AOSs, "Humberside South" and "Humberside North"
*Isle of Wight
*Kent
*Lancashire
*Leicestershire
* twoLincolnshire AOSs, "Lincolnshire North" and "Lincolnshire South"
* twoNorfolk AOSs, "West Norfolk" and "East Norfolk"
* threeNorth Yorkshire AOSs, "The Yorkshire Dales", "The Vale of York" and "The North York Moors"
*Northamptonshire
* twoNorthumberland AOSs, "East Northumberland" and "West Northumberland"
*Nottinghamshire
*Oxfordshire
*Shropshire
*Somerset
*South Yorkshire
*Staffordshire
* twoSuffolk AOSs, "West Suffolk" and "East Suffolk"
*Surrey
*Warwickshire
* West Midlands
*West Sussex
*West Yorkshire
* twoWiltshire AOSs, "Kennet, North Wiltshire & Thamesdown" covering the north and "West Wiltshire & Salisbury" in the southAreas of Search in Wales
There are 12 Areas of Search in Wales. They are, in alphabetical order of the administrative counties into which they fall:
*
Clwyd
* threeDyfed AOSs, "Carmarthen & Dinefwr", "Ceredigion" and "Preseli & South Pembrokeshire"
* twoGlamorgan AOSs, "Mid & South Glamorgan", and "West Glamorgan & Llanelli"
* Gwent
* twoGwynedd AOSs, "East Gwynedd" and "West Gwynedd"
* threePowys AOSs, "Brecknock", "Radnor" and "Montgomery"Areas of Search in Scotland
There are 44 Areas of Search in Scotland.
*
Angus andDundee
*Annandale andEskdale
*Badenoch andStrathspey
*Banff andBuchan
*Berwickshire andRoxburgh
*Caithness
*Clydesdale andSouth East Glasgow
*Cumnock andKyle
*Dumbarton andNorth Glasgow
*Dunfermline andKirkcaldy
*East Perth
* East Ross andCromarty
*Edinburgh andWest Lothian
*Falkirk andClackmannan
* Gordon andAberdeen
*Inverness
*Islay andJura
*Kincardine andDeeside
*Kintyre
*Lorne
* Mid and East Lothian
*Mid Argyll andCowal
*Moray andNairn
* Mull,Coll andTiree
*Nithsdale
*North East Fife
*North Lochaber
*North West Sutherland
* North Wester Ross andCromarty
*Orkney
*Renfrew andCunninghame
*Rùm and the Small Isles
*Shetland
*Skye andLochalsh
*South East Sutherland
*South Lochaber
*South Perth
* South Wester Ross andCromarty
*Stirling
*Tweeddale andEttrick andLauderdale
*West Perth
*Western Isles North
*Western Isles South
*Wigtown andStewartry References
Bibliography
*
Nature Conservancy Council (1989) "Guidelines for selection of biological SSSIs" ISBN 0-86139-544-1
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