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RIVERINE BOTTOMLAND IMAGE
Riverine bottomland
 
Flourishing amid river meanders, floodplain forests serve as reservoirs during times of high water. Instead of rushing downstream, floodwater pools behind natural levees and in sloughs and oxbows, and is then slowly released. Thick woody vegetation traps sediment and slows the river’s speed. Silver maple and cottonwood dominate northern floodplains; along the sluggish southern rivers tupelo and bald cypress stand out.

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