Endangered species
In spite of its large area of distribution, the population of barwood is in decline and was put in the IUCN Red List of endangered species in 2018 (Barstow, 2018). Three major causes for this decline have been identified: exploitation for fodder and timber, and land conversion. Due to the combination of these threats, some local populations of Pterorcarpus erinaceus have already disappeared and it is predicted that the total number of barwood treeswill decrease by over 50% within the next 100 years (Barstow, 2018).
Use for fodder
In the Sahelian region, the overexploitation of barwood foliage for fodder is the historical reason for its disappearance. In Mali, in the region of Bamako, it wa estimated in the 1990s that 7500-8000 t/year of barwood fodder were needed to feed local sheep, and about 1500 t/year of fresh foliage were sold in the Bamako markets. In spite of efforts to regulate its exploitation and to create barwood-based fodder banks, the severe and frequent lopping of this species has since resulted in its disappearance in the Bamako area (van Houten, 1997; Barstow, 2018).
Exploitation for timber
Barwood timber is an excellent alternative to rosewood, and the demand for African rosewoods on the international timber market has led since the 2000s to massive logging, much of it illegal. There was a 15-fold increase in exports between 2009 and 2015, driven by Chinese demand. In 2014 alone, about 1 million barwood trees were logged to be exported to China (CITES, 2016; Barstow, 2018). Extraction for timber in Gambia, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire exhausted existing stocks with a population decline of 80%, and similar rates of decline are suspected in Nigeria and Sierra Leone (Barstow, 2018). It has been proposed to list all populations of barwood on the appendix II and III of CITES to increase attention on the trade of this species, and to help blocking shipments of illegally harvested and traded barwood (CITES, 2016).
Land conversion
The decline of the barwood population is also linked to the increasing urbanization of its area of extent, as land is converted to new infrastruture such as human habitat, roads and dams (Barstow, 2018, CITES, 2016).
Reafforestion
In order to alleviate the decline of the species, there are attempts at reafforestation of the savanna and at establishing stands (CJB-SANBI, 2017).
Pioneer species
Barwood has the potential to become a dominant tree species in wooded savanna habitats but often its growth and range are reduced. It is considered a pioneer on fallow lands as it is able to fix N from the atmosphere (Duvall, 2008).