Ecosystem legacy of the introduced N2-fixing tree Robinia pseudoacacia in a coastal forest.

Habitat invasibility has been found to increase dramatically following the alteration of ecosystem properties by a nonnative species. Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust, is a nitrogen-fixing, clonal tree species that aggressively invades open habitats and expands outside of plantations worldwide. Robinia pseudoacacia stands in Cape Cod National Seashore were particularly susceptible to a hurricane in 1991 that caused widespread blowdown and a dramatic reduction in Robinia in some stands.