Land-use in the Macaronesian islands of Portugal and Spain

This article outlines the method used in designing a thematic map of land-use. The aim is to depict the main land-use categories and changes, across the Macaronesian islands of Portugal and Spain, between 1990 and 2006. The map presents a novel technique of summarizing land-use/land-cover (LULC) data into a custom-made 2D static graph-based display. The method proposes depicting the region of interest inside a hollow circle chart, commonly known as 'doughnut chart'. The void inside the chart allows placing a complete cartographic representation, whereas the circle chart itself allows displaying statistical data of the encircled cartographic representation. To convey the temporal dimension, the method positions the graphics following a timeline. This custom display provides a framework to study and represent LULC data, overcoming common visual effectiveness issues. The proposed approach is flexible and suitable for application elsewhere, making it possible to draw visual impressions and comparisons in a straightforward manner.