# Physico-Chemical and Melissopalynological Characterization of Czech Honey
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Comparison with European Honeys  
Honey and its composition has a variable character. It cannot be assumed that its properties will stay unchanged both in place and in time. There are many influences on the physico-chemical properties but also on the pollen profile. An important factor is the location from which the honey comes. To give an impression of the conditions in the Czech Republic, we present a brief description of it. The climate in the Czech Republic is temperate oceanic, with the coldest month averaging above 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C (Koppen classification--Cfb) in the lowlands and warm-summer humid continental climate, and the coldest month averaging below 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C in the highlands (Dfb). Agricultural land, meadows and forests prevail in the Czech territory. In the Czech Republic, the agricultural land is farmed mainly by large-scale farms. Farming is concentrated in more fertile areas. The agriculturally marginal areas include grasslands in the areas of higher altitudes, with steeper gradient and worse soil quality [54]. Four major forest types, corresponding to phytosociological associations, can be distinguished in the Czech Republic: Hercynian, widespread in the Bohemian Massif (Melampyro memorosi-Carpinetum); Pannonian, confined to southern Moravia (Primulo veris-Carpinetum); Carpathian, common in eastern and central Moravia (Tilio cordatae-Carpinetum); and wet habitat type, occurring mainly on soft bedrocks in eastern Bohemia, northern Moravia and Silesia (Stellario holosteae-Carpinetum) [55]. Neighbouring countries also have a similar climatic and botanical character, but differ in their agricultural activity. Agricultural structure in Poland, Austria, and Germany is more fragmented [54]. This has increased biodiversity in these regions. However, differences can also be expected in comparison with other countries, where especially in the southern and northern regions of Europe, there are different climatic conditions, but also different botanical representation of nectariferous and non-nectariferous plants. For a better description of the achieved results, we compared the results for the Czech Republic with the most comprehensive European survey study [9] characterizing European honeys (Figure 2). This study includes honeys from various European countries, primarily Italy, France, and Germany. For better comparison of the sampled honeys with Czech and European honeys we provide comparison plots (Supplementary I, Figure S1) based on transformed value as in [9]. The dominant agricultural crop grown in the Czech Republic is _Brassica napus_. Intensive growing of this taxon enables the collection of monofloral rapeseed honeys in the Czech Republic, but it also has an effect on the pollen profile of polyfloral honeys from the agricultural areas of the Czech Republic. The effect of agricultural crops on the pollen profile in honey was also confirmed in Finland, when the change in agricultural activity increased the _Brassica_ pollen content up to 60%. The authors also confirmed a simultaneous decrease in the _Trifolium_ species [56; 57]. Both the above taxa were confirmed in the Czech Republic and in some cases they were classified as monofloral honeys. For BH, data overlapped for all physico-chemical parameters except for the colour and diastase activity (Figures 2 and 3, BH). Czech rapeseed honey was darker with greater variability. Differences in the colour of rapeseed honeys were also confirmed in the study by [58] where the colour of _Brassica_ honey ranged from light amber to dark amber. However, the colour did not depend on the amount of rapeseed pollen. We assume that the different coloration of BH is due to the proportion of other botanical taxa in the honey, which caused a change in the colour of honey. Typical physico-chemical parameters for European TH are not commonly described. In our study, evaluated TH was non-compliant with Germany trade specifications in pollen profile, E. Cond. and colour [23]. Their summary is given in Figure 2 (TH).