In general, as floodplains become more dessicated with age, salt cedar assumes a greater dominance due to its high drought tolerance relative to native phraetophytes. As described above, the presence of salt cedar in an area tends to increase the salinity of the soil and thus prevent the presence of many native species. Salt cedar readily takes up solutes from the soil and then dumps them above the ground from its salt glands or by dropping its leaves. Water use by salt cedar is generally considered to be high, but evapotranspiration rates often vary throughout the day. Stomates are open during daybreak, when conditions are most cool and humid.
Wildfires become more frequent within stands containing high amounts of salt cedar.
Salt cedar is a fire-adapted species with more efficient recovery mechanisms than most native species. In this light, salt cedar thrives after a fire occurs and can thus exploit niches once occupied by those native species. Dense stands of salt cedar and increased flooding have been correlated in previous studies. As these stands increase in density, narrowing the channel that water flows through, the rate of water flow increases and the chances for flooding increases. Also, water is often shunted to areas that usually do not experience water flow because of these dense stands.