We related pitch pine lowland community gradients in the New Jersey Pinelands (Pine Barrens) to water-table level, soil moisture, soil texture, available nutrients, and disturbance. Forest stands were classified as mesic pine-scrub oak forest, dry pitch pine lowland, wet pitch pine lowland, or pine-maple swamp. Stand position along the first axis of a detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) ordination contrasted the distribution of upland species, such as scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia), blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica), and low blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum), with that of wetland species, such as red maple (Acer rubrum), dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa), and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). This upland-to-wetland community gradient was associated with a complex environmental gradient characterized by increasing soil moisture and soil organic matter and decreasing water-table depth and bulk density. We concluded that because soil features are functionally related to water-table depth, hydrology may be the primary factor responsible for the observed vegetation patterns.