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This dataset contains species richness data for epiphytic diatom communities collected from weir ponds in seven headwater streams within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in New Hampshire between 2018 and 2021. Diatom samples were gathered using artificial bryophyte substrates, deployed in weir ponds to mimic natural diatom habitats. Species richness was quantified by identifying diatom taxa to the lowest possible taxonomic level, with 86 taxa spanning 43 genera recorded. This dataset represents the first comprehensive classification of diatom communities at HBEF, providing a baseline for future studies in this ecosystem. Environmental variables, including light availability, dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and pH, were concurrently measured to assess their influence on diatom community composition. The light (lux) data used in this study is openly available in the EDI Data Portal at https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/0f40b75b299494d736645d940fa2b5a4. The chlorophyll-a data and analysis methodology are available at https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/7fa32d94240fc7780d62cb7e65eafdb2. Reach characteristics were sourced from the EDI Data Portal at https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3e4b95149245341d522383bba51de7c7. This study provides valuable insights into the relationships between environmental factors and diatom diversity in northern hardwood forest streams, aiding ecological monitoring and bioindicator studies. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 

This dataset presents data on the in-stream large wood in 16 stream reaches in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest as well as the riparian forest structure and composition at these streams. It also provides data on the large wood in 13 stream reaches in old-growth forests in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. 

Abstract As we contemplate the future of forest landscapes under changing climate conditions and land‐use demands, there is increasing value in studying historic forest conditions and how these landscapes have changed following past disturbances. Historic landscape paintings are a potential source of data on preindustrial forests with highly detailed, full‐color depictions of overstory and understory environments. They display key details about forest community composition, microhabitat features, and structural complexity from a time well before the advent of color photography. Despite these paintings' potential, their scientific applications have been impeded by questions of validity. How truly accurate are the images portrayed in these paintings? How much of an image is an artist's manipulation of a scene to best illustrate an allegory or romanticized view of nature? Following an established assessment model from historical ecology for evaluating resource validity, we demonstrate how scholarship on art history can be integrated with ecological understanding of forest landscapes to follow this model and address these questions of image veracity in 19th century American art. Further, to illustrate the potential use of these historic images in ecological studies, we present in a case study assessing microhabitat features of 10 different paintings. While this paper explores 19th century landscape art broadly, we focus our art historical review in particular on Asher Durand, a prolific and influential artist associated with the so‐called “Hudson River School” in the mid‐1800s. Durand left clear records about his perspectives on accurately depicting nature, and from a review of images and writings of Durand, we find support for the potential use of many of his paintings and sketches in historic forest ecology research. However, we also identify important caveats regarding potential ecological interpretations from these images. More broadly, because 19th century landscape paintings are not always directly transcriptive, and because regional art cultures differed in the 1800s, we cannot within this paper speak about landscape image veracity across all 19th century landscape art. However, in following established methods in historical ecology and integrating tools from art history research, we show that one can identify accurate historic landscape paintings for application in scientific studies.