Fire was important for maintaining tallgrass prairie. Native American land management with fire may have been partially responsible for maintaining the prairies. The entire sub-subsection is intensively farmed. Only small areas of wet or wet mesic prairies persist. Tallgrass prairie, including mesic prairie, wet mesic prairie, and wet prairie.
Fens also occur at the foot of calcareous slopes.
Of the extensive original tallgrass prairies and oak openings, only small preserves remain. The landscape is heavily disturbed and severely fragmented.