TASK DEFINITION: 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.
PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Groundwater salinization compromises buffering properties. Vegetation clearance, along with irrigation, causes serious issues. Irrigation increases the water table and mobilizes salts, and vegetation clearance allows it to come in contact with water habitats and vegetation. This stresses species not adapted to high salinity. High levels of salinity reduces water uptake in plants, by causing stomatal closure, reducing photosynthesis. Forests undergo decline in areas of high salinity and shallow groundwater depths because these conditions make them more susceptible to droughts. Forests undergo decline in areas of high salinity and shallow groundwater depths making them more susceptible to droughts. 
Story: Roger has been wanting to make a difference in the world, and has decided he wants to start a forested area in the country side. He has some areas that he has mapped out, and is trying to decide where he would like to start his new growth. The Bilton Valley area has recently been cleared of vegetation and has some irrigation channels installed for a near by farm. The other area he is looking at in an uncleared pasture called Stevens Pasture. 
Question: Will Stevens Pasture have a more reduced or increased water uptake by plants than Bilton Valley?

SOLUTION: increased.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: The example of someone having a positive experience with a drug is easy to see how drug dependence and the law of effect works. The tolerance for a drug goes up as one continues to use it after having a positive experience with a certain amount the first time.[38] It will take more and more to get that same feeling. This is when the controlled substance in an experiment would have to be modified and the experiment would really begin. The law of work for psychologist B. F. Skinner almost half a century later on the principles of operant conditioning, "a learning process by which the effect, or consequence, of a response influences the future rate of production of that response.[39]. 
Story: The Salvia Squad met to discuss their experiences. They all said they always had a great experience using salvia and used the same amount each time. They told how many times they used salvia. Weston used it once. Jerrod used it a few times. Lucio used it a lot. 
Question: Who has a lower tolerance for salvia: Weston or Lucio?

SOLUTION: Weston.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Mantle melting can come about three ways: (1) when the temperature rises, (2) if the pressure lowers (which lowers the melting point), and (3) if water is added, which lowers the melting point. Two of these (1 and 3) might explain why there are volcanoes at convergent plate boundaries the temperature of the subducting plate increases as it sinks into the hot mantle (1). Sediments lying on top of the subducting plate contain water. As the sediments subduct, the water rises into the overlying mantle material. This lowers the melting temperature of the mantle (3). When the mantle above the subducting plate melts, volcanoes form above it. This leads to volcanoes in an island arc or continental arc. 
Story: Two geologists studied the Earth's crust. Benny studied mantle melting, while Vinny studied more about crust displacement. 
Question: Which scientist observed that lower pressures (which lowers the melting point) trigger mantle melting?

SOLUTION:
Benny.