Family: Fabaceae

Acacia mangium is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing tree native to the humid tropical lowlands of northeastern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia. It thrives in tropical and subtropical climates, tolerates a wide range of soils, and is widely planted for timber, paper pulp, soil improvement, and shade. The species produces viable seeds, forms natural hybrids with other Acacia species, and can establish in disturbed or marginal areas. Seeds are primarily bird-dispersed and can remain viable for several years.

While A. mangium can naturalize outside its native range, its invasiveness is generally limited to disturbed habitats. It is considered allelopathic, somewhat unpalatable to livestock, and may affect regeneration of certain native seedlings. The species is not shade-tolerant, does not form dense thickets, and has no spines or toxic properties for humans or animals. Management is possible with herbicides such as triclopyr, and the tree responds well to coppicing and disturbance. Overall, it is a commercially useful species with moderate environmental risk under controlled conditions.

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized outside native range in several tropical regions (including Kaua'i, O'ahu and Hawai'i)
  
• Garden/amenity/disturbance weed: can colonize roadsides, abandoned, degraded, or open areas
  
• Allelopathic: can inhibit growth of some native seedlings
  
• Unpalatable to livestock
  
• Nitrogen-fixing: may alter soil nutrient dynamics
  
• Produces viable seeds that persist in the soil for multiple years
  
• Seeds dispersed by birds
  
• Tolerates or benefits from disturbance, fire, or coppicing

Low Risk Traits:

• Does not form dense thickets
  
• Does not climb or smother other vegetation
  
• No spines, thorns, or burrs
  
• Not toxic to humans or animals
  
• Shade-intolerant
  
• Reproduction mostly sexual; no vegetative fragmentation
  
• Well-controlled by herbicides if needed