One of the greatest challenges for ecological restoration is to identify the desired composition of the ultimate plant community. It is essential to understand which species will establish, co-exist, and perform the desired suite of services in the re-established ecosystem. Plant functional traits integrate the ecological and evolutionary history of a species, and can predict where a species is likely to succeed as well as its influence on ecosystem function. Successful restoration efforts must also consider continued anthropogenic disturbances, including the introduction of invasive species, changes in fire regime, and changes in abiotic factors. Thus, it is essential to identify species differences in functional traits and to understand how these inter-specific differences will mediate community response to changes in the environment. The goal of this symposium is to draw together academic and practicing restoration ecologists working on different aspects of plant function to identify successful strategies for restoration that utilize information on plant functional traits.