These changes are from years of study by well known specialists of the genus, a similar situation to the Opuntia humifusa clade. It’s not solely based on a paper, rather the paper is a culmination of the specialist work by experts in the area. This is also similar to the Opuntia genus where David Ferguson has made several changes based on his and other study. I am merely conveying them to iNaturalist. I’ll notify in the future.