The authors of the petition argue that acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) is an allochthonous and potentially invasive species that grows aggressively and displaces native tree species. At the same time, acacia does not improve the hydrological regime — it does not stabilise water sources, retain moisture or protect the soil. Moreover, its rapid growth depletes groundwater reserves, which are already rapidly declining. As a result, black locust reduces biodiversity and
does not provide the ecosystem benefits necessary for the country’s adaptation to climate change.
The authors of the petition acknowledge that planting acacia may have advantages in certain cases: to stabilise degraded land after erosion and landslides, to fix nitrogen in the soil and carbon in the wood mass, and for honey production. ‘However, these reasons are not sufficient to justify the widespread distribution of an invasive species.’
According to official data from the Moldsilva agency, acacia already accounts for more than 36% of the forest fund’s species composition. Instead of decreasing, the area occupied by this species is increasing due to existing forestry methods.
The authors of the petition propose using acacia only on severely degraded soils and promoting reforestation through the use of native species (oak, hornbeam, linden, ash, beech, alder, poplar, willow, etc.) in an amount of at least 70% of the total number of new plantings.
