It is often found in pure stands or mixed with willows and red alder. It can be found below 5000 ft. It can be found on silty, gravelly or sandy soils. The black cottonwood requires high light levels and large amounts of water which limit its optimal growth to riparian areas. Its crown grows massive boughs that serve as nesting platforms for a variety of birds and cavities of rotting trunks provide shelter for many others.
Black cottonwoods produce weak, light clear wood.
Pollination and seed dispersal occur by wind when the fruits split open in summer and release plume-laden seeds into the air. The first instar eats the leaves during the summer and the second instar overwinters and resumes feeding the next spring. The Black cottonwood grows very fast, one tree growing up to 120 ft tall and 32 inches thick in only 27 years. Abundance of the Black cottonwood has decreased as agricultural activities occupy its habitat. It has been crossed with eastern cottonwood and has established near the Columbia River in Oregon.