In this symposium volume, an international team of contributors provides a wide ranging examination of the field of plant population ecology. This newly emerged subject area integrates ecological, genetical, physiological and morphological approaches to the study of plant populations. In doing so it provides insights into the behaviour of individual plants within populations, the distribution and abundance of `species' populations, and the interactions between populations that determine community structure. The twenty-one chapters provide a broad overview of recent developments in the subject and also point towards possible future directions for research