国家地理 温室效应导致花种减少

In the Rocky Mountains of Central Colorado, the forces of nature create a landscape of alpine¹ lakes,

科罗拉多州中部巍峨的高山上，自然的力量创造了一幅美丽的风景画，有着高山湖，

high-altitude ponds teeming² with life and mountain meadows bursting with wild flowers.

充满生命的高海拔池塘，长满野花的高山草原。

It is amidst these beautiful wildflower fields that one scientist has already found

在这些美丽的野花中，

alarming evidence about the potential impact of global warming.

一位科学家发现了全球气候变暖的潜在影响的有力证据。

John Hart, a professor of Environmental Science at the University of California, Berkley,

John Hart是伯克利加利福尼亚大学环境科学的教授。

runs an experiment to determine what would happen if the temperature was just three degrees warmer here year around,

他组织了一个实验，观察如果这里一年之内气温升高3度会有什么情况发生，

like the forecasted effect of global warming.

就好象全球气候变暖的预报。

"That heating effect will induce dramatic effects on these subalpine meadows,

“热效应会对这些亚高山带的草原产生剧烈的影响，

causing loss of plant seed we especially value here, the flowering plants."

造成我们非常珍惜的开花类植物的减少。”

John Hart has come here each summer since the 1970s, examining factors affecting life in this fragile ecosystem³.

从上世纪70年代开始，John Hart每年夏天都会来这里，检查影响脆弱的生态系统的因素。

"This heating is actually quite subtle. We are not heating a lot.

“加热量其实很微小，我们没有加热很多。

It’s only a few degrees, but it's causing the flowering plants to produce fewer flowers and to grow less abundantly."

仅仅几度的变化，就会导致开花类作物开花量减少，不像以前那样丰富。”

His setup is relatively⁴ simple. Low-power electric heaters suspended above a mountain meadow heat the ground

他的设备相对来说很简单。低功率的电加热器悬挂在高山草原上给地面

and the plant life beneath, three degrees warmer than the surrounding area.

和下面的植物加热，比周围环境温度高3度。

The heaters are automatically and precisely⁵ controlled,

加热器是自动化的，温控非常精确。

they have been on constantly, day and night, winter, spring, summer and fall since 1991.

从1991年开始，加热器就春夏秋冬日日夜夜的悬挂在那里。

In his global warming experiment, he suspended heaters in a grid⁶ pattern

在他的全球变暖实验中，他按照格子状悬挂加热器，

to create heated plots, then unheated plots, back and forth⁷, so he can judge the effects side by side.

以组成加热区和非加热区，来来回回，这样来判款交互影响。

The difference, three degrees of separation makes in flowers and sagebrush, is easy to see.

3度温差给花和山艾树造成的差别一目了然。

"They suck juices out of the plant."

“他们将汁液吸从植物中吸出来。”

In the unheated natural area, sagebrush is a source of moisture for an army of thirsty insects. They keep sagebrush under control.

在没有加热的自然区域，山艾树是很多昆虫的水源。他们使山艾树的数目受到控制。

"So they have little mouthpieces that can suck away at the nutrient⁸."

“他们并没有吸取里面的营养。”

But just a few feet away, sagebrush under the heater grows far better with fewer bugs⁹.

但是就在几英尺之外，在加热下的山艾树生长状况好很多，虫子很少。

"...much more rapidly, we found that the heating is causing profuse¹⁰ growth of the sagebrush."

“我们发现，加热使山艾树生长速度过快。”

While that's good for the sagebrush; it's not good for its plant neighbors. Flowers feel the effect too.

虽然这样对山艾树比较好，但是对邻近的植物造成威胁。花也感受到了影响。

In natural areas, flowers grow thick as they always do here, but a few feet away, where it's three degrees warmer, flowers are not as abundant.

在自然区域，花张的比较厚密，温度高3度的几英尺之外，花开的就没有那么繁盛。

"The meadows, instead of looking lush and strewn with flowers, are now actually rather arid¹¹."

“草地没有看上去苍翠繁茂，鲜花盛开，反而变成了不毛之地。”

If global warming, or long-term climate change, does increase the year-around temperature here just a few degrees,

John Hart预测，如果全球变暖或者长期的气候变化导致这里的全年平均气温升高几度，

John Hart predicts, in decades to come, flowers could be crowded out by sagebrush.

未来的几十年之内，鲜花会被山艾树吞噬。

"Global warming is more than just an ecological¹² catastrophe¹³; it would be a human catastrophe in all of its dimensions."

“全球变暖并不只是生态灾难，对人类来说，也是一个巨大的灾难。”

1 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

2 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

3 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

9 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 profuse   

adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的

参考例句：

• The hostess is profuse in her hospitality.女主人招待得十分周到。
• There was a profuse crop of hair impending over the top of his face.一大绺头发垂在他额头上。

11 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

12 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

13 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。