英国国家信托基金会（National Trust）开展的研究显示，自 1900 年来，其消失的面积大小相当于怀特岛（ the Isle¹ of Wight ）。

 

Apple and other fruit trees are among the first to bloom, but according to the National Trust, this burst of spring blossom is becoming a rarer sight as orchards² are torn down to make way for housing developments and modern agriculture.

苹果树和其它果树是最早开花的树木之一，但据国家信托基金会称，由于果园被拆除，为开发住房和现代农业让地，满园春花欣欣向荣的景象将越来越罕见。

 

The Trust's analysis of historic maps using artificial intelligence techniques suggests more than half of orchards in England and Wales have vanished in little over a hundred years. And that's bad news for people and nature, they say.

该信托基金会使用人工智能技术对历史地图进行的分析表明，仅在100年多一点点的时间内，英格兰和威尔士超过一半的果园都消失了。该机构说，这对人类和自然来说都是坏消息。

 

Traditional orchards can be a haven³ for wildlife with flowers providing a food source for pollinating insects and branches giving a home to patrolling bats.

传统果园可作为野生动植物的庇护所，那里的花朵为传粉昆虫提供了食物来源，树枝为飞来飞去的蝙蝠提供了栖息处。

 

The National Trust has vowed⁴ to plant four million blossoming trees as part of its commitment to cultivate 20 million trees across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030.

英国国家信托基金会承诺到2030年，将在英格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰栽培2000万棵树，其中包括种植400万棵开花的树木。

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