Formed only in the places where artemisia shrubs are liv- ing, and the remaining root relicts within rhizoliths belong to this species. the spatial distribution of rhizoliths also suggested that low topographic positions on a landscape provided soil moisture, and redox environments favored rhizolith formation. a semi-closed redox environment in the subsoil at swales and depressions, where water is always present, along with the sandy soil texture, facilitated fast water percolation to deeper depths and condensation. such a soil environment not only provides water for growth, but also for the weathering of minerals such as felspars and calcite from primary carbonates, and for the decomposition of root relicts. furthermore, harsh climatic conditions, such as strong winds and solar radiation, led to water evaporation through dead root channels and trig- gered the calcification along the root relicts. the entrapped lithogenic carbonates and to a lesser extent the decomposi- tion of roots provided the carbon sources for the rhizoliths formation, while the weathering of soil minerals, particularly feldspars and carbonates, was the main source of ca. rhizoliths in the badain jaran desert formed rela- tively quickly, probably over a few soil drying episodes. this led to the entrapment of a large quantity of lithogenic carbonates (more than 90% of carbon) within rhizolith cement. the re-dissolution of the entrapped lithogenic car- bonates in rhizolith tubes should be taken into account in the paleoenvironmental interpretation of c ages, the lat- ter suggesting that rhizoliths formed during the holocene ( ~ 2053 years cal bp, based on root organic relicts)