I suspect that it is not so much that the pines and the under growth diverted the runoff as it is they absorbed it. That many trees and that heavy under brush require HUGE amounts of water and the roots keep the soil loose and ready to suck up any water available. My advice, keep the underbrush and accumulated pine needles to a minimum going forward. There is a good market for pine needle straw. My BIL has acreage in pines in Florida (not far from Dothan) and the buyer comes and harvests the needles and writes him a check!
The rule of thumb I've read is keep the trees at least 50 feet away from the pond unless you want them tapping into the pond as a water source.
Just my 1 cent....
Thanks for the rule of thumb. That's exactly what I was looking for. Just couldn't find anything specific on the matter. I think going forward I'll plant my new trees no closer than 50 feet from the pond and manage the timber with controlled burns and mowing to keep undergrowth at bay. This should help tremendously with runoff issues.
