Acacia Mill.

Perennial.

Black locust grows naturally over a wide range of soils and  topography. The most common orders of soil within its native  range are Inceptisols, Ultisols, and Alfisols, and the most  common soil great groups are Hapludults, Paleudults,  Dystrochrepts, and Eutrochrepts (41). The species does best on  moist, rich, loamy soils or those of limestone origin and thrives  best on moist slopes of the eastern mountains below 1040 in  (3,400 ft) (18,21). In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,  the upper elevational limit is 1620 ni (5,300 ft) (46). Black  locust has become established on a wide variety of disturbed  sites such as old fields or other cleared areas.

    Black locust is very sensitive to poorly drained or compact  plastic soils. Excessively dry sites are also poor for the  species. Yellow, brown, or reddish-brown subsoils without  pronounced mottling are better than gray, bluish-gray, or yellow  subsoils mottled any color. Silt loams, sandy loams, and the  lighter textured soils are superior to clay, silty clay loams,  and the heavier soils. In the Central States, growth of black  locust plantations was found to be closely correlated to  plasticity, compactness, and structure of the subsoil, all of  which influence drainage and aeration. Growth was unfavorably  affected by insufficient or excessive drainage. Soil pH from 4.6  to 8.2 and the amount of mineral nutrients present showed no  relationship to growth. Growth was best on limestone-derived  soils and soils without pronounced subsoil development (37).

    On West Virginia spoil banks, black locust was the most successful  species, but survival declined as slope increased. On slopes  greater than 25 percent, each 10 percent increase in slope  decreased survival 3.4 percent. On slopes steeper than 40  percent, growth was inversely related to slope steepness.  Survival was about 80 percent at elevations of 340 to 670 m  (1,100 to 2,200 ft). Above 670 m (2,200 ft), survival decreased  steadily with increasing elevation and at 1330 m (4,350 ft)  survival was less than 65 percent (7).

    Although black locust has done well in mine spoil banks in the  Central States, it has failed consistently when planted on badly  eroded, compacted, clayey soils of the southern Appalachian  Region (21). In the Arkansas Ozarks, many plantations on worn out  and eroded fields were complete failures. On the southwestern  Coastal Plain of Arkansas, plantations on sites previously in  agricultural crops failed because of slow growth due to low soil  fertility, repeated attacks by the locust borer (Megacyllene  robiniae), and invasion of pine (32).

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Perennial.