Land use in the dry subtropics: Vegetation composition and production across contrasting human contexts

► Dry subtropical regions display contrasting land cover patterns across continents. ► Vegetation divergence increase from natural to seminatural to cultivated systems. ► Cultivated area increases with population density or connection to global markets. ► In spite of degradation contrasts, Asia and the Americas host similar grain yields. ► Per-capita grain outputs are low and convergent in Asia and Africa (50 kg∗y−1∗inh−1)