The tree is cultivated in parks and gardens. It is sometimes used in afforestation and agroforestry in non-fertile or wet soils which it enriches by means of nitrogen fixing bacteria in its root nodules.

Alder is an excellent tree for coppicing and pollarding. Its cut branches may be fed to browsing livestock such as cows and goats, then used for kindling, firewood, or light construction - while root systems fertilize adjacent agricultural plots via nitrogen fixation.

Its wood and bark are used in smoking meat, particularly fish and duck.