Due to its rocky soil, the early settlers were unable to plow the area, resulting in the prevalence of cattle ranches as opposed to the crop land more typical of the Great Plains.

These ranches rely on annual controlled burns conducted by ranchers every spring to renew the prairie grasses for cattle to graze.

[3] Due to shallow outcroppings of limestone and chert that lay just underneath the soil surface, corn and wheat farming were not practical over much of the area since plowing the land wasn't feasible.

Most of the plains, such as the Central tall grasslands to the north, have better soil than the Flint Hills and a richer plant cover, but have almost entirely been converted to farmland.

The expansion of shrubs and trees, referred to as woody plant encroachment, is a prominent regime shift and risk to the existing tallgrass prairie.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the World Wildlife Fund have designated the Flint Hills as an ecoregion, distinct from other grasslands of the Great Plains.