1
O.W. Van Auken and J.K. Bush, Invasion of Woody Legumes, SpringerBriefs in Ecology 4,
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7199-8_1, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Prosopis and Acacia are two genera of woody legumes that occur worldwide,
mostly in dry lands in the arid zone and in the arid and semiarid, temperate, subtropical, and tropical grasslands, savannas, and woodlands (Figs. 1.1 and 1.2 )
(Simpson 1977 ; Heywood 1978 ; New 1984 ; Tame 1992 ). Some Acacia s. l. (sensu
lato) species in eastern Africa seem to be riparian species, and a few Australia species seem to be successional species and appear be a part of forest communities
which are in wetter areas. In addition, the ecological position of a number of New
World tropical Acacia species s. l. is not clear. Many of these New World tropical
species seem to be found in disturbed areas (Janzen 1974 ), but these species and
communities will not be described or discussed. In this book, we will mostly deal
with a few members of the genus Acacia or more specifi cally with some members
of the former genus Acacia s. l. , but there will be some general information about
Prosopis and references to Prosopis when comparisons are important and justifi ed.
Recently, the genus Acacia s. l. has been divided into fi ve genera including Senegalia
and Vachellia (Maslin et al. 2003 ; CPBD 2004 ; Seigler and Ebinger 2005 ; Maslin
2006 ; Seigler et al. 2007 ; Crow and Ritter 2012 ). We will focus on the ecology of a
handful of specifi c members of the genera Senegalia and Vachellia with a few references to Prosopis. Most of the species of the new genus Acacia are found in
Australia, and these species and communities will not be discussed here.
Members of these genera have been used by native and modern people for construction, tanning hides, medicine, dyes, soaps, perfumes, fi bers, animal fodder, and
fuel (Simpson 1977 ; New 1984 ; Tame 1992 ; Dharani 2006 ). Some species of
Senegalia and Vachellia have also been used in soil conservation and to some extent
in erosion control. However, one of the most important characteristics of many of
these species is that they are legumes, are associated with nitrogen-fi xing bacteria,
and add substantial amounts of biologically fi xed nitrogen to the soil, especially
degraded soils or low nitrogen soils (Simpson 1977 ; West and Klemmedson 1978 ;
Tame 1992 ; Bush 2008 ; Khan et al. 2010 ; Tye and Drake 2012 ).
Chapter 1
Introduction
O.W. Van Auken and J.K. Bush, Invasion of Woody Legumes, SpringerBriefs in Ecology 4,
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7199-8_1, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Prosopis and Acacia are two genera of woody legumes that occur worldwide,
mostly in dry lands in the arid zone and in the arid and semiarid, temperate, subtropical, and tropical grasslands, savannas, and woodlands (Figs. 1.1 and 1.2 )
(Simpson 1977 ; Heywood 1978 ; New 1984 ; Tame 1992 ). Some Acacia s. l. (sensu
lato) species in eastern Africa seem to be riparian species, and a few Australia species seem to be successional species and appear be a part of forest communities
which are in wetter areas. In addition, the ecological position of a number of New
World tropical Acacia species s. l. is not clear. Many of these New World tropical
species seem to be found in disturbed areas (Janzen 1974 ), but these species and
communities will not be described or discussed. In this book, we will mostly deal
with a few members of the genus Acacia or more specifi cally with some members
of the former genus Acacia s. l. , but there will be some general information about
Prosopis and references to Prosopis when comparisons are important and justifi ed.
Recently, the genus Acacia s. l. has been divided into fi ve genera including Senegalia
and Vachellia (Maslin et al. 2003 ; CPBD 2004 ; Seigler and Ebinger 2005 ; Maslin
2006 ; Seigler et al. 2007 ; Crow and Ritter 2012 ). We will focus on the ecology of a
handful of specifi c members of the genera Senegalia and Vachellia with a few references to Prosopis. Most of the species of the new genus Acacia are found in
Australia, and these species and communities will not be discussed here.
Members of these genera have been used by native and modern people for construction, tanning hides, medicine, dyes, soaps, perfumes, fi bers, animal fodder, and
fuel (Simpson 1977 ; New 1984 ; Tame 1992 ; Dharani 2006 ). Some species of
Senegalia and Vachellia have also been used in soil conservation and to some extent
in erosion control. However, one of the most important characteristics of many of
these species is that they are legumes, are associated with nitrogen-fi xing bacteria,
and add substantial amounts of biologically fi xed nitrogen to the soil, especially
degraded soils or low nitrogen soils (Simpson 1977 ; West and Klemmedson 1978 ;
Tame 1992 ; Bush 2008 ; Khan et al. 2010 ; Tye and Drake 2012 ).
Chapter 1
Introduction