Your substrate should have enough aggregates in it that it's doesn't become compact and require stirring. With constant watering, organic material break down and so do aggregates like bark, so yes, some occasional turning over and amending of the potting mix is needed, just like in a compost pile, but this is done anyway, by removing tired plants and adding new ones, strong in pelleted, slow release fertilizers ( yes this can and should be done in these habitats ), and by every couple to several years removing the surface layer of substrate to about half and replacing with fresh. It doesn't matter how biologically active your substrate is, just like aquarium water, it can look clean, but it changes its chemical properties and becomes stripped of nutrients and trace elements over time and water changes replenish these, and the same is true for a container environment with substrate. As organic matters break down, they become more acid and acidity binds available nutrients plants need to grow. No amount of "bioactivity" (which is really just a buzz word at this point anyway) will keep a system going indefinitely healthy for a functioning, container ecosystem. Can you achieve a functioning container atmosphere, in a sealed jar? With one or 2 tolerant species and the right start, the buffering capacity of the soil and nutrients can cycle and maintain life, but that's different from an actual thriving environment, with multiple species, thriving in perpetual balance. For people wanting to understand more about "bioactive" they should read and get to understand cycling planted and saltwater aquariums, composting, organic gardening, and growing African Violets with wick watering, as these topics explain the relationships between bacteria, pH drift, the nitrogen cycle, and how a biologically active system works, in general, and in every case, some removal, and addition of new material is always needed to maintain a thriving community.
