The Kafue Flats ecosystem has evolved in response to the conditions of the dam's influence; to regular extremes of flooding and drying out. The floods charge the soil with water. Fish, and animals adapt to swim or wade, help spread nutrients, and when the waters recede, grasses grow rapidly and sustain herbivores such as buffalo, lechwe, and cattle. The natural seasonal cycle has maintained plants, fish, and animals, as they have adapted to the March–April inundation in their nutrition and breeding. Many of the local residents move their settlements annually to cope with the regular cycle of flooding.