Changing with the climate: A review of on-farm adaptation behaviour dynamics for research, practice, and policy

Understanding behavioural dynamics behind farm-level climate adaptation is crucial for research, policy, and practice. This systematic scoping review synthesises 72 empirical studies (2013-2024) across high-income countries in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand to resolve evidence fragmentation across disciplines and sectors. Based on PRISMA guidelines and combining narrative synthesis and content analysis, we analyse drivers and barriers of farm-level behaviour across five key thematic categories: cognitive-perceptual, experiential-identity, structural-environmental, social-normative, and informational. We establish an integrative conceptual framework revealing two core psychosocial decision pathways: one via attitude-shaped by climate change appraisal, beliefs, and risk perceptions-and another driven by perceived behavioural control (PBC), influenced by structural, financial, policy, and social conditions. Incremental adaptations rely heavily on the practical PBC-pathway, whereas transformative adaptations are more shock-driven and ideological, operating through the attitude-pathway. The framework provides actionable leverage points for context-specific policies, multi-actor knowledge exchange, and social learning.