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At a moment when the long-kept secrets of the cacti are closer than ever to being revealed, the plant itself is facing a difficult future.
就在仙人掌隐藏许久的秘密即将揭晓之际，这些植物本身正面临艰困的未来。
Around 60 to 90 percent of cactus species will be negatively affected by climate change or human activity, according to a study co-authored by Bárbara Goettsch, co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Cactus and Succulent Plants Specialist Group.
根据国际自然保护联盟的仙人掌与多肉植物专家小组共同主席芭芭拉·戈特奇共同发表的一篇研究，约有60-90%的仙人掌物种会受到气候变迁和人类活动的负面影响。
"Cacti are among the most threatened taxonomic groups assessed to date," says Goettsch.
“目前评估过的分类群中，仙人掌是受到最严重威胁的其中一种。”戈特奇说。
Case in point: March 2021 marked the end of the driest year in the past seven decades for the southern Baja California peninsula in Mexico.
举个例子：2021年3月，墨西哥下加利福尼亚半岛南部70年来最干燥的一年终于结束。
In response, large tracts of the famous columnar organ pipe (Stenocereus thurberi) are showing a yellowing of their stems.
干旱导致一大片著名的风琴管仙人掌连茎都发黄了。
Wilder, the director of the Sonoran research group, calls this a "cactus scorching event," the long-term effects of which are still largely unknown.
索诺兰研究小组主任怀尔德称之为“仙人掌烤焦事件”，这件事的长期影响大部分都还不明朗。
What is clear is that some plants' photosynthetic systems appear to be breaking down because of the stress from intense heat and lack of moisture.
已经知道的是，某些植物的光合作用系统似乎因为高温和缺水所造成的压力而遭到破坏。
"What we are seeing is that these extreme heat and drought events are having a landscape-level impact on the cactus population," he says.
怀尔德说：“我们所看到的是，这些极端的高温和干旱事件正在对仙人掌种群产生景观层面的影响。”
Back in Tucson, Swann remained skeptically optimistic about the species he's been carefully photographing.
而在亚利桑那州的土桑，斯旺对他细心拍摄的这个物种仍抱持审慎乐观的态度。
He recently joined the Saguaro Arms Citizen Science Project, which began in the spring of 2023, and is discovering that saguaros appear to grow their first arm on the southeastern-facing side to receive more energy from the sun.
他最近加入了在2023年春天展开的“巨人柱手臂公民科学计划”，发现巨人柱的第一根“手臂”似乎都是从东南那侧长出来的，这样才能吸收更多来自太阳的能量。
At the same time, he's collaborating in the Future of the Saguaro research project, a partnership that aims to learn more about saguaro responses to climate change, including by planting test beds to study the genetics associated with heat resistance.
同时，他也参与“巨人柱的未来”研究计划，这项合作致力于深入了解巨人柱如何应对气候变化，内容包括栽植试验苗床以研究跟耐热相关的遗传特征。
As the sun beat down, Swann gestured toward a slope covered in the iconic cacti, whose twisting arms make it nearly impossible to ignore their humanlike appearance.
随着太阳发威，斯旺指着一处长满了种经典仙人掌的山坡，它们弯折的手臂让人简直无法忽视那彷彿人类一般的外表。
"These saguaros are going to live for a long time," he said.
“这些巨人柱会活很久”，他说。
Some specimens may live more than 200 years. The opportunity for discovery is just heating up.
有些可能会活超过200岁。找到新发现的机会，正在升温。
