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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.
就在仙人掌隱藏許久的秘密即將揭曉之際，這些植物本身正面臨艱困的未來。
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.
根據國際自然保護聯盟的仙人掌與多肉植物專家小組共同主席芭芭拉·戈特奇共同發表的一篇研究，約有60-90%的仙人掌物種會受到氣候變遷和人類活動的負面影響。
"Cacti are among the most threatened taxonomic groups assessed to date," says Goettsch.
“目前評估過的分類群中，仙人掌是受到最嚴重威脅的其中一種?！备晏仄嬲f。
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.
舉個例子：2021年3月，墨西哥下加利福尼亞半島南部70年來最干燥的一年終于結束。
In response, large tracts of the famous columnar organ pipe (Stenocereus thurberi) are showing a yellowing of their stems.
干旱導致一大片著名的風琴管仙人掌連莖都發黃了。
Wilder, the director of the Sonoran research group, calls this a "cactus scorching event," the long-term effects of which are still largely unknown.
索諾蘭研究小組主任懷爾德稱之為“仙人掌烤焦事件”，這件事的長期影響大部分都還不明朗。
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.
已經知道的是，某些植物的光合作用系統似乎因為高溫和缺水所造成的壓力而遭到破壞。
"What we are seeing is that these extreme heat and drought events are having a landscape-level impact on the cactus population," he says.
懷爾德說：“我們所看到的是，這些極端的高溫和干旱事件正在對仙人掌種群產生景觀層面的影響?！?/p>
Back in Tucson, Swann remained skeptically optimistic about the species he's been carefully photographing.
而在亞利桑那州的土桑，斯旺對他細心拍攝的這個物種仍抱持審慎樂觀的態度。
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年春天展開的“巨人柱手臂公民科學計劃”，發現巨人柱的第一根“手臂”似乎都是從東南那側長出來的，這樣才能吸收更多來自太陽的能量。
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.
同時，他也參與“巨人柱的未來”研究計劃，這項合作致力于深入了解巨人柱如何應對氣候變化，內容包括栽植試驗苗床以研究跟耐熱相關的遺傳特征。
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.
隨著太陽發威，斯旺指著一處長滿了種經典仙人掌的山坡，它們彎折的手臂讓人簡直無法忽視那彷彿人類一般的外表。
"These saguaros are going to live for a long time," he said.
“這些巨人柱會活很久”，他說。
Some specimens may live more than 200 years. The opportunity for discovery is just heating up.
有些可能會活超過200歲。找到新發現的機會，正在升溫。
