Impact of the new Common Agricultural Policy of the EU on 1 the runoff production and soil moisture content in a 2 Mediterranean agricultural system

15 Soil moisture variability and the depth of water stored in the arable layer of the soil are 16 important topics in agricultural research and rangeland management. In this study we use the 17 Distributed Rainfall-Runoff (DR2) model to perform a detailed mapping of topsoil moisture 18 status (SMS) in a mountain Mediterranean catchment. This model, previously tested in the 19 same study area against the Palmer Z-index, is run at monthly scale for the current scenario of 20 land uses and under three scenarios that combine the land abandonment and the application of 21 the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. Under the current 22 conditions, runoff yield is scarce and presents a high spatial variability when monthly rainfall 23 intensity and depth are low, and infiltration processes mainly lead to water storage in the soil. 24 When rainfall intensity is high, runoff accumulation along the hillslopes controls the depth of 25 available water in the soil, and SMS is more homogeneous. On average, scrublands and 26 pasture have the wettest values, crops of winter cereal and abandoned fields have intermediate 27 conditions, and areas of bare soil and forest have the driest conditions all the year around. The 28 abandonment and no revegetation of the low productive fields located in steep areas and the 29