One thing I would like to see would be a more automated method of farming lumber. This would be very useful for large, mature fortresses and would also reduce the micromanagement required, thus always keeping your woodcutters busy without having to continually redesignate large areas to be clearcut. And it would mean a steady supply for your wood crafters and carpenters.
Here are two ways this could work, and they should be relatively easy to do:
A)
Tree farms are created much like regular farms. There are no tree seeds, but you can only grow trees that naturally grow in that biome and you can select these trees from a list. Tower caps can only be grown underground if you have discovered a river or lake, and surface trees can only be grown on the surface if that tree is already growing on your map. No growing oak trees in the middle of a glacier. A dwarf will go to each tile of the farm and work for a few moments to plant the sapling. This uses the grower skill.
After several years (or however long the tree takes to mature) a harvest job will be generated. This can only be done by woodcutters and does require an axe. Harvesting the tree produces a stack of logs, just like cutting down a tree normally.
When there is empty space on the farm more planting jobs will be generated. This can be abstracted that the dwarves are clearing away other brush to allow saplings to grow, or transplanting saplings from elsewhere on the map to the tree farm. There is currently no good way to produce tree seeds, but trees are not grown from seeds on tree farms anyways. They are usually grown from saplings that are moved when still tiny and then planted in orderly rows.
B)
Allow an activity zone to have an automatic gather plants and/or cut down trees option.
Each time a mature tree appears it will then be automatically designated to be cut down. A woodcutter with an axe will then head over there and start chopping.
Shrubs could also be designated to be gathered in much the same way. Each time a shrub appears it is designated to be gathered, and a herbalist will head over there to gather up the plants.
Thoughts?