why would it be hard to find the ideal co2 level if the light intensity were very low?
Because at very low light intensity, photosynthesis is barely happening, changing CO₂ levels will not noticeably change the rate, so there is no clear “best” CO₂ level to detect.
What limits photosynthesis here
At low light, photosynthesis is limited mainly by light , not by CO₂.
Even if CO₂ is increased or decreased, the overall rate changes only slightly because the light-dependent reactions cannot run much faster when light is scarce.
Why “ideal CO₂” is hard to see
To find an “ideal” CO₂ level experimentally, you look for a CO₂ concentration where photosynthesis (or oxygen production) is maximized and then plateaus.
Under very low light, the curve of rate vs. CO₂ is almost flat, so measurements at different CO₂ levels look very similar and the optimum is practically invisible.
Role of respiration
In low light, plants still respire, using O₂ and releasing CO₂, while photosynthesis is weak.
This background CO₂ production can mask small changes in CO₂ uptake by photosynthesis, further blurring any “ideal” CO₂ point.
TL;DR: With very low light, photosynthesis hardly responds to CO₂, so the data do not show a clear maximum; that is why finding an ideal CO₂ level is difficult.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.