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<br /> <br />In addition. water can also flow from higher groundwater systems into lower surface <br />waters during periods of low flow, so that the frequency and duration of extremely low <br />flows may be reduced. Many wetlands store water that is important for wildlife and <br />may be used for irrigation during periods of drought. <br /> <br />Summar}' - Natural resources in floodplains interactively function to determine the <br />distinctive attributes of soils, vegetation, habitat, and water. They also carry out valu- <br />able functions that provide benefits both to humans and to wildlife. How these func- <br />tions can be encouraged or impeded by human activities on the land is the subject of the <br />next section. <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 10 - The Mississipf,i River reclaims its jloodplain during the Great Flood of /993. <br /> <br />.-g <br /> <br />"".ten thousand river <br />commissions. with the mines <br />of the world at their back. <br />cannot tame that lawless <br />stream, cannot curb it or <br />define it, cannot say to it "Go <br />here," or "Go there, .. and <br />make it obey; cannot save a <br />shore which it has sentenced; <br />cannot bar its path with an <br />obstruction which it will not <br />tear down, dance over, and <br />laugh at. .. <br /> <br />- Mark Twain, <br />Life on the Mississippi <br />