Overview of seed development, anatomy and morphology / Elwira Sliwinska and J. Derek Bewley -- Fruits and frugivory / Pedro Jordano -- The ecology of seed dispersal / Anna Traveset, Ruben Heleno and Manuel Nogales -- Seed predators and plant population dynamics / Michael J. Crawley -- Light-mediated germination / Thijs L. Pons -- The chemical environment in the soil seed bank / Henk W.M. Hilhorst -- Seed dormancy / Alistair J. Murdoch -- The chemical ecology of seed persistence in soil seed banks / Robert S. Gallagher, Mark B. Burnham and E. Patrick Fuerst -- Effects of climate change on regeneration by seeds / Rui Zhang and Kristen L. Granger -- The functional role of the soil seed bank in agricultural ecosystems / Nathalie Colbach -- The functional role of the soil seed banks in natural communities / Arne Saatkamp, Peter Poschlod and D. Lawrence Venable.