The Problem: When players want to create a tree farm, they place trees right next to each other per tile, creating a densely packed and unaesthetic cluster of trees that originally would cause massive lag spikes, but is also frequently used as an alternative to palisade walls due to it being so easy to just plant trees and grow a wall instead.
The Impact: Having players construct their walls out of trees may have unexpected consequences when it comes to sieges or defense, in addition to being an unrealistic mechanic compared to real-world standards. Normally, trees are planted at least 2-4 meters apart to keep them healthy and from tangling as they mature.
The Solution: Trees should be impacted by their direct surroundings. For example, if a tree is placed next to a permanently constructed building or object that prevents its placement, the quality of the tree should be reduced by 50%.
This prevents trees from being used as walls, because the maximum quality tree (100) would be reduced to quality 50 and no longer function as a wall. It also forces players to think more about what they want to get out of their farm. They'll need to choose between lots of medium to low quality trees, or space them out to create high quality 50+ quality ones. This will help to keep tree farms looking MUCH more natural, as well as increasing the value of high quality trees because it requires more space to grow.