Soil Color

Soil color gives information about organic matter in the soil, drainage, biotic activity, and fertility.

Condition	Dark (dark grey, brown to black)	moderately dark (brown to yellow brown)	light (pale brown, yellow)
organic matter	high	medium	low
erosion factor	low	medium	high
aeration	high	medium	low
Available nitrogen	high	medium	low
fertility	high	medium	low

Condition	Subsurface soil color
water-logged soils, poor aeration	dull grey (if in low rainfall soils 0-20 in.)
well drained soils	yellow, red-brown, black (if in forest soils)
somewhat poorly drained soils	mottled grey (if in humid soils)