Jesse Bellemare's research while affiliated with Smith College and other places

... However, there is increasing evidence that microbes are actively involved in strong interactions with plants under varying habitat conditions to affect the distribution and occurrence of plants (Kummel and Lostroh, 2011;Mesquita et al., 2016;David et al., 2019). As important plant root-associated microbes, mycorrhizal fungi and their host symbiotic response could mediate host species distribution range (John and Anderson, 2011;Mccary et al., 2019;Mestre et al., 2020;Mueller et al., 2022). Plant range expansion could be supported or constrained by the presence or absence of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi. ...

... The composition and diversity of herb-layer vegetation in beech forests is largely determined by various factors, among which climatic (temperature, precipitation) and soil parameters play a crucial role at broader spatial scales (Leuschner and Ellenberg, 2017). Apart from abiotic factors, the importance of historical processes shaping the current distribution of forest herbs and species pools in Europe (Jiménez-Alfaro et al., 2018) and temperate deciduous forests in eastern North America (Erlandson et al., 2021) has been repeatedly emphasized. These studies suggested that post-glacial range formations contributing to present day geographic distributions of many forest plant species are mainly a result of limited dispersal (Willner et al., 2009;Bellemare and Moeller, 2014;Willner et al., 2023). ...

... Since substrate quality can exhibit a strong influence on temperature sensitivities of soil respiration [11,43], I expected similar factors to influence the temperature sensitivities in this study. The hemlock stands have more persistent soil organic carbon, due to a thick organic layer (4.1 cm; [44]). Though not formerly tested, hemlock forests are thought to have more recalcitrant organic matter, as they may be comprised of needles containing high concentrations of lignin and polyphenolic compounds, as well as humic compounds [20]. ...

... For example, a modified foliar chemical profile by the hemlock woolly adelgid [19] may have post chronic long-term effects on the forest ecosystem (both above and belowground), although time lags may exist [32] (Figure 2). ...

... Bazzania trilobata (L.) Gray (Lepidoziaceae) is a leafy liverwort with a circumboreal distribution, including western Europe, eastern and western USA, and Japan, which grows in extensive gametophyte mats [1]. B. trilobata has been described for its antitumor [2] and antifungal properties [3,4]. ...

... The distribution pattern of R. catawbiense is similar to that of many other range-restricted forest plant species that are associated with the Southern Appalachian Mountains biodiversity hotspot in the eastern U.S., and it is suspected that the distributions of these endemic species might trace in part to limited dispersal and migration from Pleistocene refugia in the south (Bellemare and Moeller 2014). In the face of modern climate change, small-ranged species from the southern Appalachians Mountains might be at high risk and could become candidates for poleward assisted colonization into the northeastern U.S., a region with similar forest habitats and cooler climate (Bellemare and Moeller 2014;Bellemare et al. 2017;Fig. 1b). ...

... Therefore, mismatches are likely between the climatic conditions existing in the current distribution of a species and the potential range of climatic conditions that are suitable, yet not explored due to other biotic and abiotic (non-climatic) factors. In other words, the fundamental niche is not fully occupied (Bocsi et al., 2016;Booth, 2017;Booth et al., , 2015Booth & McMurtrie, 1988;Hortal et al., 2012;Lobo et al., 2010;Perret et al., 2019). Therefore, accounting for the capacity of organisms to cope with conditions not present in their current ranges can improve forecasts of future range dynamics (Araújo et al., 2013;Early & Sax, 2014;Maiorano et al., 2013;Schurr et al., 2012). ...

... Even when climate and soil conditions are suitable for a given species at a given site, the species may be absent due to dispersal limitation [45]. Because climate is changing quickly and many plant species disperse slowly, it is possible that conditions beyond the species' current cold range edge (i.e. ...

... It also occurs disjunctly west of the Mississippi River in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The species has naturalized via horticultural escape in the northeastern United States, from eastern Pennsylvania north to Massachusetts where it has been cultivated since the 1800's (Bellemare & Deeg, 2015;Rhoads, 1994). This northward naturalization raises complex questions about how non-native populations should be categorized and valued for conservation purposes. ...

... In order to probe whether the presence of competitors is a compulsive factor for toxin production, as would be the case in a CSIC model, the effect of the environmental bacterial load on the relative number of antagonists on Staphylococcus CWZ226 or E. coli MC4100 was determined. Soil samples from the Smith College MacLeish Field Station in Whately, MA (29), were retrieved from the grassland surface (GS; 3-cm depth), the grassland subsurface (GSS; 15-to 20-cm depth), the organic (O) horizon from hemlock forest soil (FS; 3-cm depth), and the forest subsurface (FSS; A/B horizon, 15-to 20-cm depth). To elucidate key factors distinguishing soil environments and their impacts on the bacterial load and percentage of antagonists, we determined edaphic characteristics like pH, percent nitrogen (%N), percent carbon (%C), carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N), temperature, water content, CFU/g dry soil, and percentage of antagonists (Table S2-1 in the supplemental material). ...