This book provides a simplified description of the photosynthesis at the molecular, biochemical, organelle, cell and organ levels of organization in plants, which contribute to the complex processes. It considers how photosynthesis and biochemistry determines the physiological characteristics of plants and production of dry matter. The text links the fundamentals of light capture by pigment molecules to the generation of high-energy organic molecules and their consumption in carbon dioxide reduction. The mechanisms are related to the control of energy and material fluxes. The text is intended for post-graduate study and for non-specialists in other disciplines who wish to understand photosynthetic mechanism and control. References are mainly from the secondary or review literature, from which detailed arguments and the primary literature may be obtained. Several recent textbooks have considered more specialized aspects of photosynthesis and there are many excellent reviews; this book is intended to point the reads to them. We hope that this text will be enable readers to appreciate the hierarchy of organization that enables plants to produce dry matter within the confines of the environment. With current exciting possibilities for genetically engineering plants for specific purposes to give greater dry matter production or improved growth in particular environments for example, it is essential that the role of molecular events in the functioning of the whole system in relation to environment shall be well understood.
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