Eared Sallow

The plants have an extensive root system and are used to stabilize waste heaps and old slag heaps. The seeds are very light and can therefore travel great distances in the wind. The plant can thus spread to areas such as deforested regions where the soil is disturbed. Seedlings will grow quickly, even under exposed conditions, and the plant will provide good cover for the establishment of forest plants. As a result, it is a good pioneer species and will, except in wetter and peaty soils, eventually be largely overshadowed by other trees in the forest. The main disadvantage as a pioneer species is that it has an extensive root system and is quite a greedy plant, which means it does not help to enrich the soil for other forest plants as much as other pioneer species like alder, Alnus species. Dynamic accumulator.