Mite community composition across a European transect and its relationships to variation in other components of soil biodiversity

•Used extensive transect on which multiple aspects of soil biodiversity were measured.•Composition of mite community varied with bio-climatic zone, land-use type.•Mite community primarily related to extent of fungal dominance of microbial biomass.•Composition of Mesostigmata community correlated with microbial activity (MSIR).•At this spatial scale mites do not appear to be a good indicator of overall soil biodiversity.