A new study suggested collectors and black market trade are putting 30 percent of rare cactus species at risk of extinction. The research was published in the journal Nature Plants in October.
The study was completed by an environmental organization known as the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The group collected data from around the world, but found most of the impacted cactuses were located in North and South America.
Jan Schipper, a conservation biologist from Arizona State University, contributed to the study. One impacted species is the golden barrel cactus, which is commonly found in the Valley. While it's abundant in the Phoenix suburbs, in Quetero, Mexico, where the cactuses are from, almost none are left, Schipper said.
Just like any ecosystem, when one feature disappears, it can trickle down to other plants and animals in the system, Schipper said.
