The capacity of understorey shrub and graminoid strata to conserve Ca, Mg, K and P by rapidly resprouting after fires was examined in prescription-burned stands of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis Morelet growing on infertile savanna soils in Belize, Central America. Vegetative resprouting by both strata was vigorous and resulted in above-ground biomass accumulations, after 1 year, of approximately 800 and 1500 kg ha-1 for shrubs and graminoids, respectively. Thereafter, accumulation was slower and consisted mainly of stemwood in shrubs and standing dead material in grasses and sedges. After 5 years, total above-fround mass accumulation in shrubs and graminoids was approximately 2400 and 3400 kg ha-1 respectively. Despite this difference in mass, higher nutrient concentrations in shrub tissues resulted in larger nutrient accumulations in this stratum than in graminoids for all elements except P, which showed a large accumulation in the standing dead tissues of grasses and sedges. Accumulation in either layer represented a significant proportion of the total system storages and fluxes. However, because of the generally larger accumulation of nutrients in the shrub layer, and the resistance of its tissues to ignition during fire, we conclude that this stratum should be preferred for nutrient conservation when this ecosystem is managed