The selection process for finding a suitable research area was based on a set of criteria. The assumption is made that a land access map will only be meaningful if people have the physical opportunity to visit a particular site. This means that the region has to be accessible via major roads and that the site has to be accessible via smaller roads and/or paths. Furthermore, to make the research area suitable for testing the model it must contain a mixture of forests, agricultural fields (such as cropland and pastures), and water bodies. It should also contain one or more Special area of scientific interest (SSSI), Special protection area (SPA), Special area of conservation (SAC), or Ramsar. It should contain a tourist office were additional information about the area can be retrieved. The size of the area should not be too large due to the time constraints of the project and it should not be made too small, which could reduce the number of differing land cover types.

The study area (in black) is situated 50 km West of Aberdeen and 2 km East of Ballater.

Based on these criteria a suggested research area has been selected. It is situated in the Southwest of Aberdeenshire in Scotland, crossing the borders of Upper Deeside, Aboyne, and Donside and Cromar. The area is 48 sq.km and is a part of the Cairngorm national park. It contains three Sites of special scientific interest, SSSI (Muir of Dinnet (2) and Dinnet Oakwood (1)); eight Special area of conservation, SAC (Muir of Dinnet (6), Dinnet Oakwood (1), and River Dee (1)); two Special protection areas, SPA (Muir of Dinnet); and two RAMSAR (Muir of Dinnet). The two SPA and the two Ramsar objects are Loch Kinord and Loch Davan. Furthermore, it contains forests as well as agricultural fields. The nearest tourist office is located in Ballater, a few kilometres east of the research area.

A panorama view covering the entire study area. (Click on the image to view a larger version.)

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