Evolution of photosynthesis in an environment with much more than it otherwise would be, it performs more efficiently. A second mechanism, CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions. The most important benefit of CAM to the plant is the ability to leave most leaf stomata closed during the day. This reduces water loss due to evapotranspiration. The stomata open at night to collect , which is stored as the four-carbon acid malate, and then used during photosynthesis during the day. The pre-collected is concentrated around the enzyme RuBisCO, increasing photosynthetic efficiency. More
Photosynthetic efficiency wavelength range, the theoretical maximum efficiency of solar energy conversion is approximately 11%. In actuality, however, plants do not absorb all incoming sunlight (due to reflection, respiration requirements of photosynthesis and the need for optimal solar radiation levels) and do not convert all harvested energy into biomass, which results in an overall photosynthetic efficiency of 3 to 6% of total solar radiation. If photosynthesis is inefficient, excess light energy must be dissipated to avoid damaging the photosynthetic apparatus. Energy can be dissipated as heat (non-photochemical quenching), or emitted as chlorophyll fluorescence. Quoted values sunlight-to-biomass efficiency The following is a breakdown