Neil E. Bell is a British bryologist based at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. He completed a Master of Science at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and a PhD at the University of Reading, based at the Natural History Museum in London, on the evolution of pleurocarpy.
Following his doctorate, N. Bell worked for nine years at the Finnish Museum of Natural History in Helsinki. During this period, his research included the phylogeny and evolution of the Polytrichaceae and studies of southern temperate pleurocarpous mosses. He subsequently returned to Scotland and joined the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
N. Bell’s research combines systematic and evolutionary studies with conservation-oriented bryology. One major strand concerns the phylogeny and taxonomy of pleurocarpous mosses, particularly austral and Southeast Asian groups, as well as the Polytrichales. A second focuses on Scotland’s bryophyte flora, especially globally rare oceanic and hyper-oceanic taxa and communities. His work on oceanic-montane liverwort heath combines molecular sequence data, herbarium taxonomy, ecology and biogeography to clarify species limits and distribution patterns relevant to conservation assessment.
He is also interested in spatial phylogenetics, using evolutionary relationships among species to identify areas containing particularly distinctive components of bryophyte diversity. This work contributes to understanding the evolutionary and biogeographical significance of the Scottish bryophyte flora and to establishing conservation priorities.
In addition to his research, Bell is active in bryological outreach and scientific publishing. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Bryology, chairs the Publications Committee of the British Bryological Society, and is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Bryophyte Specialist Group.
