16S and 18S periphyton sequencing data associated with a nutrient diffusing substrate experiment conducted in Pear Lake, Sequoia National Park, California in 2022

This dataset includes metabarcoding sequencing files of periphyton samples associated with a 21-day nutrient diffusing substrate (NDS) experiment run in Pear Lake of Sequoia National Park, California in summer 2022. The experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of different treatment levels of a macronutrient (nitrogen) and a micronutrient (copper) on periphyton growth and community structure in an alpine lake. We used a full-factorial study design with three nitrogen treatments (0, 0.05, 2 mg/L NO3-N) and six copper treatments (0, 0.005, 0.05, 0.5, 1, 5 mg/L Cu), totaling 18 unique treatment combinations. For each treatment, we collected three replicate samples for periphyton community structure quantified using metabarcoding methods. We used a 16S primer to quantify bacteria taxa, including cyanobacteria, and an 18S primer to quantify eukaryotic primary producers. Additional data for water quality measurements, and periphyton ash-free dry mass and copper concentration values are released in a separate package via ScienceBase (https://doi.org/10.5066/P1T6UYAX).