Species vary in traits (A), and the prevalence of traits will vary in the community depending on the abiotic environment (B). Traits and abiotic conditions together influence food web structure and function (C). Degraded communities often consist of species with traits that enhance food web stability, making them tolerant and resistant to abiotic change (C). Consequently, restoring the abiotic environment may be insufficient to restore the biotic community. In such situations, positive reinforcing mechanisms associated with negative resistance and resilience mean that species characteristic of degraded communities continue to dominate (i.e. established generalist persist) despite improving abiotic conditions (C, red arrow). By investigating the traits and mechanisms associated with negative resistance and resilience we will find abiotic influences that exploit trait compositions in these degraded communities to overcome negative resistance and resilience – biotic restoration (C, blue arrow).