Pitch pine-oak forests are mature closed-canopy forest communities. Conversely pitch pine-oak-heath woodland communities have a vegetation structure that is intermediate between a woodland and a shrub-savanna, with a canopy cover that does not excede 60%.

Pitch pine-heath barrens is a shrub-savanna community that has a very open canopy and an extensive shrub layer dominated by heath species and sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina). It can have a more open canopy than pitch pine-oak-heath woodlands, and often has a more diverse species composition.

Pitch pine-scrub oak barrens is a shrub-savanna community that has a very open canopy and an extensive shrub layer dominated by scrub oaks and sweet fern. Within the shrub thicket, there are openings that are dominated by grasses, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans). Pitch pine-oak-heath woodlands can have a more extensive canopy than pitch pine-scrub oak barrens, and they have a lower species diversity and lack the grass-dominated openings.

Pitch pine-oak-heath rocky summits occur inland on rocky soils, often on rocky outcrops on summits, ridges, and slopes. Pitch pine-oak-heath woodlands, in contrast, occur on well-drained sandy soils in the pine barrens regions of the coastal plain.