Afforestation on agricultural land in England: Applying the Theoretical Domains Framework and Behaviour Change Wheel to identify the enablers of change within farmer behaviour

Urquhart, Julie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5000-4630, Goodenough, Alice ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0862-2894, Staddon, Philip L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7968-3179, Mills, Jane ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3835-3058, Powell, John R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8464-4521, Vigani, Mauro ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2442-7976 and Simmonds, Philippa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3929-4934 (2025) Afforestation on agricultural land in England: Applying the Theoretical Domains Framework and Behaviour Change Wheel to identify the enablers of change within farmer behaviour. Journal of Rural Studies, 120 (103848). doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103848 (In Press)

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Abstract

Increasing woodland creation and tree planting on agricultural land requires significant changes in farmer behaviour. Understanding the underlying factors influencing farmers' behaviour can help to inform the design and development of effective policies and interventions that aim to facilitate an increase in tree cover and woodland on farmland. This paper presents a systematic review of 104 studies, analysed using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) model to identify the barriers and enabling factors that will help or hinder woodland creation and tree planting on farmland. These insights, together with the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), support the identification of policy interventions aimed at facilitating farmer behaviour change. The most frequently reported TDF domains related to ‘environmental context and resources’, particularly in terms of individual characteristics (e.g. age, education, life stage), structural on-farm factors (e.g. tenure, farm size, land suitability) and access to government grant schemes; and ‘social influences’ such as group norms, peer networks and consumer demand. Motivational factors such as ‘professional identity’ and ‘beliefs about consequences’ were also important enablers or barriers. Heterogeneity of the farming community means that a mix of interventions is required which align with the different beliefs, values, attitudes and contexts of farmers. Applying the TDF and BCW to farm woodland creation behaviour can be helpful for developing theory-informed policy interventions, but the method could be improved through adaptation to account for the specific context of farmer behaviour.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Farmer behaviour; Farm woodland; Tree planting; COM-B model; Theoretical domains framework; Behaviour change wheel; Policy interventions
Related URLs:	Publisher
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > Countryside and Community Research Institute
Depositing User:	Julie Urquhart
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2025 11:28
Last Modified:	29 Aug 2025 09:30
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15240

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