Argentina is considered megadiverse for Cactaceae, and Jujuy province, with a high proportion of cacti endemism, is a critical region for their preservation. Cacti deterioration is mainly associated with habitat degradation, agricultural frontier advance, urbanization, illegal collection and trade. Of the three species of columnar cacti within Trichocereus genus that are present, Trichocereus atacamensis represents a valuable species for local communities. In the last decades, detrimental effects on T. atacamensis populations increased despite the reduction in the use of timber for construction or handicrafts. Knowledge on the health of cacti populations is fundamental for conservation and resource management, therefore the objective of the present study was to develop a health status classification criterion for cacti in Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy. A generic method was elaborated to assess the health of cacti populations to facilitate and speed-up the decision-making process for conservation purposes. The evaluation of factors involved in the deterioration is very complex. We designed a method considering aspects that the local residents identified as the most relevant: a) presence of air plant (genus Tillandsia), b) larvae of Cactoblastis bucyrus and c) signs of rot. Band transects were sampled in patches of T. atacamensis, surveying these aspects for each individual. A Multivariate Regression Tree analysis (MRT) was conducted. According to this clustering, an accessible assessment protocol with a 5-level health status was established to classify the cactus as optimal, suboptimal, compromised, vulnerable or critical. The general health status of the patches was highly variable. This MRT analysis is potentially applicable to any columnar cacti population and to establish the basis of a decision protocol for health status assessment. It is evident that the situation of T. atacamensis transcends as a local problem and exceeds the presence of pathogens suggesting a multifactorial causality that needs special attention.

阿根廷被认为是仙人掌科的一个大物种，而仙人掌特有度很高的胡胡伊省则是保护它们的重要地区。仙人掌退化主要与栖息地退化，农业前沿发展，城市化，非法收集和贸易有关。在存在的Trichocereus属中的三种柱状仙人掌物种中，atachocereus atacamensis代表了当地社区的宝贵物种。在过去的几十年中，对塔塔木薯T的有害影响尽管减少了用于建筑或手工业的木材使用量，但人口仍在增加。关于仙人掌种群健康的知识是保护和资源管理的基础，因此，本研究的目的是为胡胡伊州Quebrada de Humahuaca的仙人掌制定健康状况分类标准。制定了一种通用方法来评估仙人掌种群的健康状况，以促进和加快出于保护目的的决策过程。对与恶化有关的因素的评估非常复杂。我们设计了一种方法，考虑了当地居民认为最相关的方面：a）空气植物的存在（铁兰属），b）芽孢杆菌的幼虫c）腐烂的迹象。将带状样带取样到塔卡木霉的斑块中，调查每个人的这些方面。进行了多元回归树分析（MRT）。根据此聚类，建立了具有5级健康状态的可访问评估协议，以将仙人掌分类为最佳，次优，受损，脆弱或严重。补丁的总体健康状况变化很大。该MRT分析可能适用于任何柱状仙人掌种群，并为健康状况评估的决策协议奠定基础。显然，塔卡木霉的情况超越了局部问题，超过了病原体的存在，这表明需要特别注意的多因素因果关系。