Why can taiga plants photosynthesize efficiently during cool summers?

In the taiga biome, cool summer temperatures can actually enhance photosynthetic efficiency compared to warmer conditions. This occurs because species adapted to cold environments exhibit lower rates of respiration when photosynthesizing in intense summer light.1

By respiring less, these plants consume fewer of their stored food reserves. Consequently, they achieve a greater net gain in biomass—the dry mass of organic matter—than they would at higher temperatures, where increased respiration and processes like photorespiration would otherwise limit their growth.12