. Comprehensive plan for the Illinois Nature Preserves System. Nature conservation; Wilderness areas. pery elm, and black walnut with the oaks on the more meslc sites. Forests in the broad flood- plains of the Kaskaskia and Big Muddy rivers are dominated by silver maple, willows, sycamore, and American elm near the rivers, with pin oak, white oak, hickories, ashes, hackberry, and honey locust on the heavier soils farther from the rivers. Pin oak occasionally grows in nearly pure stands over large areas of the floodplain. The floodplain forests of the smaller streams have a higher percentage of
. Comprehensive plan for the Illinois Nature Preserves System. Nature conservation; Wilderness areas. pery elm, and black walnut with the oaks on the more meslc sites. Forests in the broad flood- plains of the Kaskaskia and Big Muddy rivers are dominated by silver maple, willows, sycamore, and American elm near the rivers, with pin oak, white oak, hickories, ashes, hackberry, and honey locust on the heavier soils farther from the rivers. Pin oak occasionally grows in nearly pure stands over large areas of the floodplain. The floodplain forests of the smaller streams have a higher percentage of oaks than the floodplain for- ests of central and northern Illinois. Pin oak and shingle oak are dominant, with white oak, red oak, hickories, black walnut, river birch, and cotton- wood occasional associates. Shumard oak and sweetgum grow in the floodplain of the Big Muddy River but are not generally abundant. PRAIRIE: At the time of settlement about 40 per cent of the uplands of the Southern Till Plain Division supported prairie vegetation. Most of the prairie was of the mesic tall-grass type char- acteristic of the Grand Prairie Division. Twelve Mile Prairie and Looking Glass Prairie were two large expanses of prairie. Mesic prairies exten- ded along the west side of the division almost to the limit of glaciation but were rare in the south- eastern part. Wet prairie was not common but did occur in parts of the Kaskaskia River flood- plain. It is not known whether the alkaline slicks of this division supported a unique prairie flora. MARSH: Marshes were associated with the stream floodplains of this division. AQUATIC HABITATS The aquatic habitats of the Southern Till Plain Division consist of rivers, creeks, and oxbow lakes. DISTINCTIVE FAUNA The northern crayfish frog, northern fence lizard, ground skink, five-lined skink, and broad- headed skink are common in the Southern Till Plain Division but are rare or absent from the Grand Prairie Division. a EFFINGHAM PLAIN SECTION
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