Use of farmland for growing biomass can result in less land being available for growing food. Since photosynthesis only captures a small fraction of the energy in sunlight, and crops also require significant amounts of energy to harvest, dry, and transport, a lot of land is needed to produce biomass. If biomass is harvested from crops, such as tree plantations, the cultivation of these crops can displace natural ecosystems, degrade soils, and consume water resources and synthetic fertilizers. In some cases, these impacts can actually result in higher overall carbon emissions compared to using petroleum-based fuels.