The Fourth International Society for Seed Science Meeting on Seeds and the Environment was held in Shenyang on 22-26 June. The meeting was sponsored by IAE,CAS and the International Society for Seed Science, co-sponsored by Shenyang1 Normal Univercity.

The theme of the meeting was Seeds and the Future. Following subjects were discussed in the meeting: 1)Evolutionary seed ecology, 2)Seed dispersal, 3)Seed bank, 4)Seed germination and dormancy, 5)Seed longivity and storage and 6) Seed ecology and plant divercity conservation. The keynote speakers were Dunyan Tan(China), Bill Finch-Savage（UK）, Begoña Peco（Spain）, Fiona J. Thomson（New Zealand）, Fiona R. Hay（Philipins）and Mark K.J. Ooi（Austrilia）.

One hundred and sixty-five scientists from 23 countries and/or districts attented the conference. Famous international seed ecologists Carol C. Baskin、Jerry Baskin、Costas Thanos、David Venable presented their work on the meeting. The meeting established a bridge among seed ecologists, plant conservationasts, restoration ecologists and scientists for reasearch in global changes.

The meeting was successful. The chairman of the International Society for Seed science congratulated the success of the meeting and praised the organizer of the meeting by his Email to Prof Zhimin Liu.