This might actually work well in the symbiotic relation the Kitori humans have with their troll compatriates. AFAIK it is a bitch of a job to keep a healthy forest out of one's fields - medieval and ancient societies usually let their animal husbandry keep the commons clear, providing a buffer zone.
Now I imagine the Kitori farms to hug the forest more closely. Too large clearings make easy targets for hawk-familiar guided solars with a vengeance (and little enough sense to enter the Troll Woods, even in the bright gloom of the day). I suppose that they regularly hire trollkin to keep the root growth etc. away from their fields. For the trolls this is quite useful, too, since the trollkin are fattened by the humans' demands, and themselves might receive some higher quality food as pay as well.
Of course the trollkin keepers have to be watchful all the time, or the trollkin will also devour valuable soil, useful compost, or even the crops. But then, given the fact that trolls love beer for a standard drink, someone has to grow the grain for that. (IIRC troll beer is less harmful to humans than Elkoini ale...)
Chained trollkin (leather or hemp leashes would be eaten) might also work as a deterrent to the wildlife of the woods or the semi-tamed pigs, not to use the fields as a pasture.
Trollkin feeding on the dropped fir needles might actually be good for the undergrowth of the Troll Woods. They might cause trouble to the resident (ordinary sized) ant colonies, though.
WRT elf presence in the Troll Woods: if there are elves, IMO they mustn't maintain a high profile except in their reservates, or be hunted by gourmet trolls. As I wrote earlier, there is nothing wrong with sacred groves precariously close to troll-habited parts which are likely to have elves which even show themselves, but these should be fringe regions (i.e. close to the mountains, or close to Wasp Nest) or enclaves.
Any elf worth his needles would be very ashamed to have eaters (trolls) permanently in their forest, and even have treaties with them, so I find it hard to have a self-respecting elf community all over the forest.
In Balazar, where there are mixed forests of Votanki, elves, and troll hunting parties, there are no permanent troll settlements in the forests. I doubt the elves would tolerate them for long (say longer than a winter).
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #472
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