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: 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?

SOLUTION: Xi province.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Noble gases are also used to fill the glass tubes of lighted signs like the one in the Figure below . Although noble gases are chemically nonreactive, their electrons can be energized by sending an electric current through them. When this happens, the electrons jump to a higher energy level. When the electrons return to their original energy level, they give off energy as light. Different noble gases give off light of different colors. Neon gives off reddish-orange light, like the word “Open” in the sign below. Krypton gives off violet light and xenon gives off blue light. 
Story: A scientist, John, has two containers of the same noble gas. John sends electricity through container A. Just as he is about to activate the electricity for container B, the power goes out, and he is unable to do so. Frustrated, John goes to find the circuit breaker to see if a fuse has blown. 
Question: Which container doesn't have energized electrons?

SOLUTION: container B.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Greenhouse Effect: The solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth is concentrated in short wavelengths, which can easily penetrate the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. The Earth, however, is cooler than the sun and it radiates its heat in the form of energy in the far infrared range. These longer wavelengths are partially absorbed by the greenhouse gases and some of the solar heat is returned to Earth. At a certain temperature these processes are in equilibrium and the surface temperature of the Earth is stable. However, if more greenhouse gases are put in the atmosphere the amount of trapped terrestrial radiation increases, leading to an increase in global temperature. 
Story: Barb and Dee studied chemistry for a school project. After little debate they decided that Dee will study volatile gases, and Barb will study greenhouse gasses. 
Question: Which girl studied less about solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth?

SOLUTION:
Dee.