An Integrated Geomorphological Spatial Modeling Framework for Military Land Suitability Assessment and Operational Decision Support: A Case Study from Central Iraq

Abstract

Military terrain evaluation has traditionally relied on individual topographic parameters, often overlooking the integrated influence of geomorphological processes on operational suitability. This study develops a GIS-based geomorphological framework to evaluate military land suitability in Salah Al-Din Governorate, Iraq, through the integration of terrain analysis and multi-criteria spatial modelling. A 30-m Digital Elevation Model, Landsat and Sentinel imagery, and geological, soil, drainage, road, and land-cover datasets were used to derive eight geomorphometric variables, which were combined with military terrain factors including mobility, observation, key terrain, natural obstacles, avenues of approach, and offensive and defensive suitability. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and weighted overlay techniques were employed to generate an integrated military suitability model. The results indicate that low-relief terrain occupies 77.60% of the study area, whereas areas with high and very high mobility represent 51.78% of the total area. Elevated ridges overlooking transportation corridors constitute the most suitable locations for observation and defensive deployment, while river networks, rugged uplands, and dissected terrain significantly constrain movement and channel operational routes. Model validation demonstrated high performance, achieving a mean Spatial Matching Rate of 86.9%, Overall Accuracy of 85.7%, and RMSE of 17.3 m. The study demonstrates that integrating geomorphometric variables with military terrain functions provides a more realistic representation of operational suitability than conventional terrain-based assessments and offers a transferable spatial decision-support framework applicable to comparable semi-arid environments following local calibration.