This dataset contains archived lateral photos collected from microplots in a long-term experiment (2013-2017) of cross-scale interactions (CSIs) at the Jornada Basin LTER site in southern New Mexico, U.S.A. Experimental treatments were initiated in 2013 at 15 experimental blocks, each with 4 treatment plots: plant-scale herbicide of mesquite shrubs, patch-scale connectivity modifiers (ConMods), herbicide + ConMods, and control without manipulations. Repeat, lateral (side-looking) photographs of ten "microplots" in each plot were taken for estimation of the vertical accumulation of litter, soil, and vegetation in the experimental treatment and control plots over time. Photographs have been cropped to provide standardized areas for this analysis. The photographs are archived by year in Zip files. This study is complete and new photos will not be added. Litter/soil accumulation estimates derived from these photos are in EDI dataset knb-lter-jrn.210413007.