Soils are very sandy, well-drained, and vary in texture from loamy fine sand to fine sand. Typical forbs are silky prairie clover, hoary puccoon, annual eriogonum, prairie coneflower, stiff sunflower, prairie sandwort, and little pricklypear. Leadplant, New Jersey tea, wild rose, western snowberry, and soapweed yucca are the principal shrubs of this community. The mixed prairie community exists on nearly level terrain both north and south of the Platte River. Because of its topography, most of the mixed prairie has been converted to agricultural production.
Soils are deep silty loams derived from loess deposits.
Typical shrubs include lead plant, western snowberry, white coralberry, smooth sumac, and soapweed yucca. The shortgrass prairie community begins in the western region of the Platte River system in Nebraska where average precipitation varies from 13-17 inches per year. Topography consists of a nearly level to gently sloping plain, dissected in numerous areas by the intermittent streams. Soils are well drained and are mainly loams or silt loams. Because of the flat topography and productive soil, much of the shortgrass prairie has been converted to agricultural production.