Current understanding of ecosystem development over decadal and century time scales can be largely be attributed to studies that have used temporal sequences of primary or secondary successional systems. Ecosystem studies using chronosequence designs have also accumulated in restored systems, particularly grasslands, where community development, and consequently, ecosystem change occurs rapidly. Numerous studies are currently aimed at evaluating recovery of above- (diversity and productivity) and belowground (soil organic matter accrual, fluxes of nitrogen, microbial community composition, etc.) ecosystem attributes during grassland restoration. These studies encompass a broad range of grasslands, from mesic tallgrass prairie to xeric short-grass steppe, and provide an excellent basis for a developing a broad perspective of grassland recovery. Therefore, the primary theme of this organized oral session is the recovery of above- and belowground ecosystem structure and function through ecological restoration across space and time in grasslands. A secondary theme of the session is the common approach of assessing system recovery rates through chronosequence studies. The focus on these two themes is intended to reveal interactions among state factors (e.g. climate and soil texture) that regulate above- and belowground productivity and play an important role in the recovery of ecosystem structure and processes. The group of invited speakers will represent a variety of disciplines involved in restoration ecology at the ecosystem scale (soil, microbial and plant ecology). The collection of presentations will elucidate feedbacks among plant community establishment, soil structural development, organic matter dynamics and stabilization, microbial community composition, and concomitant changes in the fluxes of nutrients as grass dominated ecosystems develop as a result of restoration actions. Thus, the overall objective of this organized oral session is to initiate synthesis of commonalities across space and time, inspire investigation of uncertainties, and elucidate potential mechanisms limiting or contributing to restoration success at the ecosystem scale.