Hawaiian montane ecosystems developing on recent tephra deposits contain mo
re fixed nitrogen than conventional sources can explain. Heath and Huebert
(1999) demonstrated that cloud water interception is the mechanism by which
this extra nitrogen is deposited, but could not identify its source. We sh
ow here that atmospheric dinitrogen is fixed at the surface of active lava
flows, producing concentrations of NO which are higher than those found in
most urban rush hour air pollution. Over a period of hours this NO is blown
away from the island and oxidized to nitrate. Interruptions in the trade w
ind flow can return this nitrate to the island to be deposited in cloud wat
er. Thus, fixation on active lava flows is able to provide nitrogen to deve
loping ecosystems on flows emplaced earlier.