Lim, Han She, Cheesman, Alexander W., Nelson, Paul N., Eccles, Rohan, Egger, Felix, Bulstrode, Marcus, and Weber, Tony (2026) Palaeochannels as hidden pathways of water flow in agricultural alluvial landscapes: a review of concepts and suggested future directions for modelling. Journal of Hydrology, 674. 135522.

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Abstract

Sustaining agricultural productivity while reducing off-site impacts on water quality requires a detailed understanding of water and nutrient movement through alluvial landscapes. Within these settings, palaeochannels − old river courses infilled with coarse sediments − represent major but poorly quantified subsurface flow pathways. Their influence on water and solute transport is rarely incorporated into hydrological assessments or models, despite their widespread occurrence and hydraulic connectivity with surface drains, aquifers and streams. This paper reviews current knowledge of palaeochannel structure, distribution and hydrologic function within agricultural alluvial systems, and evaluates approaches for their identification, characterisation and representation in hydrologic models. We examine the suitability of existing coupled modelling frameworks − such as HYDRUS-MODFLOW, SWAT-MODFLOW, MIKE-SHE and HydroGeoSphere − for simulating palaeochannel-mediated flow and material transport. Conceptual similarities between palaeochannels and engineered tile-drain networks are used to illustrate how established drainage formulations can inform future model development.

Item ID:	91286
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	0022-1694
Keywords:	Palaeochannels, Preferential flow, Hydrologic connectivity, Subsurface drainage, Water quality, Agriculture, Coupled modelling (HYDRUS-MODFLOW, SWAT-MODFLOW, MIKE-SHE, HydroGeoSphere)
Copyright Information:	© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Funders:	Queensland Government (QG)
Projects and Grants:	QG Queensland Water Modelling Network projects
Date Deposited:	22 Apr 2026 01:48
FoR Codes:	30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3002 Agriculture, land and farm management > 300201 Agricultural hydrology @ 60% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410402 Environmental assessment and monitoring @ 20% 37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3707 Hydrology > 370703 Groundwater hydrology @ 20%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1803 Fresh, ground and surface water systems and management > 180399 Fresh, ground and surface water systems and management not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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