The flat surfaces of the Interior Low Plateaus historically contained extensive areas of open prairie.
This fire-maintained community was concentrated in the areas of the Mitchell Plain and Pennyroyal Plain with smaller areas of prairie in the Nashville Basin and Highland Rim.
Early settlers describe these areas as nearly treeless expanses, containing Greater prairie chicken and herds of Bison.
Today, some prairie remains in areas that are managed by controlled burns, or other forms of tree removal such as powerline and roadside clearings.

Dry prairies are the most common remnant in this region, due to their unsuitability for agriculture and resistance to succession.
They are dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) and Aristida purpurascens (three-awn grass).
Mesic prairies are rarer, and are dominated by very tall grasses such as Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), and plume grass (Erianthus alopecuroides).
Wet prairies are the rarest and most poorly-documented grassland type in this region.
The few existing remnants have species such as gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and many rushes (Juncus) and sedges (Carex).
Significant prairie remnants now remain at Ft.
Campbell and Arnold Air Force Base, as well as in a few small nature preserves.
Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) was reportedly one of the few trees that could occasionally survive the annual wildfires in the prairies.
The flat surfaces of the Interior Low Plateaus historically contained extensive areas of open prairie. This fire-maintained community was concentrated in the areas of the Mitchell Plain and Pennyroyal Plain with smaller areas of prairie in the Nashville Basin and Highland Rim. Early settlers describe these areas as nearly treeless expanses, containing Greater prairie chicken and herds of Bison. Today, some prairie remains in areas that are managed by controlled burns, or other forms of tree removal such as powerline and roadside clearings.
Dry prairies are the most common remnant in this region, due to their unsuitability for agriculture and resistance to succession. They are dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) and Aristida purpurascens (three-awn grass). Mesic prairies are rarer, and are dominated by very tall grasses such as Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), and plume grass (Erianthus alopecuroides). Wet prairies are the rarest and most poorly-documented grassland type in this region. The few existing remnants have species such as gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and many rushes (Juncus) and sedges (Carex). Significant prairie remnants now remain at Ft. Campbell and Arnold Air Force Base, as well as in a few small nature preserves. Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) was reportedly one of the few trees that could occasionally survive the annual wildfires in the prairies.
Interior Low Plateaus