Short trees chopped (5)
I believe the answer is:
terse
'short' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'trees chopped' is the wordplay.
'chopped' indicates an anagram.
'trees' with letters rearranged gives 'TERSE'.
(Other definitions for terse that I've seen before include "Crisp and brief" , "Short and succinct" , "Briefly expressed" , "Crisply brief" , "Concise about trees" .)