Substance in forest erodes quickly (5)
I believe the answer is:
ester
'substance' is the definition.
(ester is a kind of substance)
'in forest erodes quickly' is the wordplay.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'ESTER' can be found hidden inside 'forest erodes quickly'.
(Other definitions for ester that I've seen before include "Organic compound, rhymes with court joker" , "Organic chemical compound" , "Compound; trees (anag.)" , "Reset (anag.)" , "Fat" .)