Effect of Rhizome Severing on Survival and Growth of Rhizomatous Herb Phragmites communis Is Regulated by Sand Burial Depth.

Rhizome fragmentation and sand burial are common phenomena in rhizomatous clonal plants. These traits serve as an adaptive strategy for survival in stressful environments. Thus far, some studies have been carried out on the effects of rhizome fragmentation and sand burial, but how the interaction between rhizome fragmentation and sand burial affects the growth and reproduction of rhizomatous clonal plants is unclear. We investigated the effect of the burial depth and rhizome fragment size on the survival and growth of the rhizomatous herb Phragmites communis using 288 clonal fragments (6 burial depths × 8 clonal fragment sizes × 6 replicates) in a field rhizome severing experiment. The ramet survival of the rhizomatous species significantly increased with the sand burial depth and clonal fragment size (p < 0.01), and the effects of the clonal fragment size on ramet survival depended on the sand burial depth. Sand burial enhanced both the vertical and horizontal biomass (p < 0.05), while the clonal fragment size affected the vertical biomass rather than the horizontal biomass. Sand burial facilitated the vertical growth of ramets (p < 0.05) while the number of newly produced ramets firstly increased and then decreased with the increasing clonal fragment size, and the maximal value appeared in four clonal fragments under a heavy sand burial depth. There is an interaction between the burial depth and rhizome fragment size in the growth of rhizome herbaceous plants. The population growth increases in the increase of sand burial depth, and reaches the maximum under severe sand burial and moderate rhizome fragmentation.

In Situ Synthesis of Tungsten-Doped SnO2 and Graphene Nanocomposites for High-Performance Anode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The composite of tungsten-doped SnO2 and reduced graphene oxide was synthesized through a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. According to the structural characterization of the composite, tungsten ions were doped in the unit cells of tin dioxide rather than simply attaching to the surface. Tungsten-doped SnO2 was in situ grown on the surface of graphene sheet to form a three-dimensional conductive network that enhanced the electron transportation and lithium-ion diffusion effectively. The issues of SnO2 agglomeration and volume expansion could be also avoided because the tungsten-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on a graphene sheet. As a result, the nanocomposite electrodes of tungsten-doped SnO2 and reduced graphene oxide exhibited an excellent long-term cycling performance. The residual capacity was still as high as 1100 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 after 100 cycles. It still remained at 776 mA h g-1 after 2000 cycles at the current density of 1A g-1.