You are given a background paragraph that describes one or more causal or qualitative relationships such as a relationship in economics or a scientific law and a story that makes use of the concepts or the relationship described in the provided paragraph. You are also given a question about the story that requires an understanding of the relationship described in the background paragraph and the story. You need to come up with an answer to the given question; the answer will be a span from either the question or the story. In order to correctly answer the given question, you need to understand the relationship mentioned in the background paragraph and should be able to use it to understand that in the story. Your answer can not consist of any word that is not mentioned in any of these: the background paragraph, the story, or the question. You can directly copy and paste a span from the story or the question while answering the given question.

Q: Background Paragraph: In nature, when the population size is small, there is usually plenty of food and other resources for each individual. When there is plenty of food and other resources, organisms can easily reproduce, so the birth rate is high. As the population increases, the food supply, or the supply of another necessary resource, may decrease. When necessary resources, such as food, decrease, some individuals will die. Overall, the population cannot reproduce at the same rate, so the birth rates drop. This will cause the population growth rate to decrease. 
Story: Bill studied two herds of deer for a year. He was in love with nature. He observed the large herd named Alpha inhabited an area with fewer resources. Herd Beta was a smaller one, and they grazed on an abundance of plants. 
Question: Which herd had more food available for each individual?

A: Beta.
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Q: Background Paragraph: Besides anthropogenic productivity of the land, the biodiversity of degraded land also declines, as previously mentioned.[12] With less biodiversity, this ecosystem is less adaptable to when disasters strike it[11][8] It has a smaller available food supply, in terms of plants, for animals, who then may die out or more likely may relocate. Proof of this decline is that presently 15-20% of Tibetan Plateau species are now considered endangered; and now because of this animal and plant absence, the soil quality of these degraded lands is very poor.[1] It does not hold the necessary nutrients, such as water, nitrogen, and carbon, essential to either supporting life or inviting life back to that land.[6] As a result of such carbon and nitrogen loss in the Tibetan Plateau, $8,033/ha and $13,315/ha were respectively lost in economic terms. Soils are further weakened by dust storms whose frequency increases because of degradation.[11][4] Erosion of soil becomes a bigger problem, since no longer are there as many plants to anchor in the soil. In the northern Chinese province alone, 400 million are affected every year with an associated 54 billion yuan of annual economic loss due to grassland degradation. 
Story: Xi province started sustainable agriculture and permaculture 40 years ago, while Huan province still uses conventional methods of cultivation.  Animals grazing the fields extensively lead to desertification, the loss of carbon and nitrogen in the soil, and other problems. Permaculture was beneficial in Xi province, they re-built 10 inches of top soil in 10 years which is 6 times faster than the natural rate, which lead to a more diverse ecosystem and more biodiversity. 
Question: Which province contributed to soil degradation less?

A: Xi province.
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Q: Background Paragraph: Marine pollution is a generic term for the entry into the ocean of potentially hazardous chemicals or particles. The biggest culprits are rivers and with them many agriculture fertilizer chemicals as well as livestock and human waste. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.Marine debris, which is also known as marine litter, describes human-created waste floating in a body of water. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter. 
Story: Croatia and Italy were two countries of similar size and population located on opposite shores of the same sea. Croatia based its economy on tourism and fishing, while Italy based its economy on conventional agriculture. Both countries had thriving economies, but they both polluted the sea in different ways. 
Question: Which country caused more marine litter?

A:
Croatia.
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