Today only small areas of oak and hickory woodland remain, mixed with dogwoods, sassafras trees and hop hornbeams.

The dominance of oak in this part of the pre-Columbian savannas of North America was due to frequent fires.

[3] Today there is very little intact habitat in this ecoregion, with a reduction of bottomland hardwood forests by 70–95%, and only 0.02 percent of the original oak savannas remain.

[3] In some areas, habitat is threatened by urbanization and invasive species such as non-native privet, honeysuckle, garlic mustard and kudzu.

The best preserved of these are Mammoth Cave, Edge of Appalachia, and parts of the Missouri Ozarks and the Tennessee Cedar Glades.