The population of the European Black Poplar is endangered nationwide. This assessment is based primarily on the knowledge of the extensive habitat loss of softwood wetlands and the risk of hybridisation with foreign poplar species, as well as the observation of mortality symptoms in some well-examined occurrences.

283 occurrences of the black poplar, consisting of approx. 44,463 individuals, have been identified. As expected, the floodplains of larger rivers were the core of distribution areas. The biggest populations have been found along the lower Oder, the middle Elbe and the upper Rhine in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony and Brandenburg.

Five centres of distribution have been identified for Germany, where the gene pool of the black poplar will be conserved.