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Tube shelters were designed to protect against browsing, but they improve seedling survival in Mediterranean dry climates. Mechanisms for this response, however, are not fully understood and this knowledge can be useful to help design optimal tube shelters for Mediterranean species and climates. Our objective in this study was to determine if the positive effect of tube shelters is due to enhanced growth during the wet season or to reduced light stress during the dry season. We performed two independent experiments. In the first, we assessed root growth during the wet season in two Mediterranean species with contrasting light tolerance (Quercus ilex L. and Pinus halepensis Mill.) growing in tubes with varying light transmissivity. In the second experiment, we studied the response of a Quercus ilex plantation to different shelter treatments. Root growth during the wet season was reduced with decreasing light …