Trait-based ecology aims to link specific plant traits, or characteristics that affect fitness, to community assembly, biodiversity, and ecosystem function. Trait-based approaches are increasingly being used to understand plant establishment and survival in restoration settings. In this talk, I will discuss how considering plant traits can improve plant selection for revegetation of systems threatened by drought or competition. I will focus on early seedling and root traits, as they hold great promise for better understanding plant establishment and survival in stressful systems.