Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Trees are large so they can obtain light for their leaves. Growing large takes time and therefore trees have a very slow life cycle. Some species grow even slower than others, use more energy to defend against risks from pathogens and wind, and have an even slower life cycle. Trees want to be as tall as possible, but they cannot be taller than they are, as they do not have sufficient energy to maintain larger trunks that would resist greater toppling over moments caused by wind and gravity. Forests are far worse for food production than open managed ecosystems are, which explains past deforestation. However, forests provide significant other benefits to humans, such as wood for fuel and construction and what is currently valued a carbon store for climate change mitigation. These benefits are distributed unevenly to world’s humans. Harvested wood provides local profit, but the benefit from climate change mitigation gained by leaving the wood in the forest spreads globally. Therefore, optimal forest distribution depends on who it is designed for. When optimizing far into the future and for all humankind, the world should have more forests and they should be more natural.</jats:p>